Police provided few details as to why the gunman opened fire in a classroom at Purdue University in the midwestern state of Indiana, however they said they believe he knew his victim.
"There's a lot of investigation on hand," Purdue university police chief John Cox told reporters.
Police did not release the name of the male student who was killed or of the suspect who was swiftly arrested.
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The university reported that the shooting took place in the electrical engineering building at noon Tuesday.
The sprawling campus in West Lafayette, Indiana serves nearly 40,000 students. Purdue employs more than 15,000 faculty and staff members.
"Today's shooting at Purdue University is a tragedy, and our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the victim and to everyone in the Purdue community," Indiana Governor Mike Pence said in a statement.
