Reports of gunfire near McKinney police station, community college campus shut down

Reports of gunfire near police HQ in Dallas suburb

McKINNEY, Texas — A gunman who apparently opened fire at a suburban Dallas police station Tuesday has died, officials said.

Lisa Vasquez, a spokeswoman for the nearby Collin County Community College District, said the shooting happened just outside campus.

“There were two people, the gunman and another person on the gunman’s side. The gunman is dead,” Vasquez said, citing police.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was shot by police or died from a self-inflicted wound, nor if anyone else was injured in the incident. Police did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press.

Patrol cars blocked street entrances to the McKinney police department building and a local community college campus was locked down.

A police officer was seen late Tuesday morning poised with a shotgun near a pickup outside the Public Safety Building in McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said Texas Rangers, highway patrol and DPS aircraft were on the scene or headed to the area. Vinger could provide no further details.

The Collin County Community College District sent an e-mail alert to college staff and students shortly after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday warning that shots had been fired and that the central campus in McKinney was closed.

The e-mail said: “Shots fired. Campus on lockdown. Cops on the scene. Details to follow.”

Associated Press writer Diana Heidgerd contributed to this report.