Police officer shot dead in MIT campus

, April 19: A police officer was shot dead in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus Thursday night, authorities said.

MIT reported on its website that gunshots were reported late in the night on campus, and police said a MIT police officer has been shot.

According to MIT, gunshots were reported at 10.48 pm near Building 32.

Media quoted police as saying an MIT police officer has been shot with life threatening injuries. A carjacking was also reported from the area.

Authorities investigating an "active shooter incident".

The school advised students and faculty to stay indoors and away from the building and surrounding area.

It was said that the deceased police officer was responding to a local disturbance when he was shot. He suffered multiple gunshot injuries. The state police and FBI were called in after the shooting and the shot officer was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the district attorney's office said.

The building, known as the Stata Center, was cordoned off later. The building houses computer science laboratories and departments of linguistics and philosophy, MIT sources said. It is also a gathering area for the students and has a food court.

Authorities of the university, located close to the city of Boston where deadly blasts in a marathon killed three people and injured several on April 15, asked the people to stay away from the building as police considered the situation to be potentially dangerous.

The university, which lies adjacent to the city of Boston, requested people stay away from the building as police considered the situation potentially dangerous.

IANS