8:10 p.m. update: School officials in the North Texas town of Graham identified UT student Harrison Brown — who is from Graham — as the student who was killed in today's stabbing at UT.
Earlier: One student is dead and three others have been taken to the hospital after a reported stabbing attack on the University of Texas campus Monday afternoon, authorities said.
UT Police Chief David Carter identified the suspect in the attack as 21-year-old UT student Kendrex J. White, a biology major from Killeen.
Police got the call around 1:30 p.m. this afternoon about a person with a knife who attacked or assaulted someone outside the Gregory gym.
A UT police officer saw a man, later identified as White, with a “large, bowie-style hunting knife,” Carter said. The officer drew his gun and told White to get on the ground, which he did, and police took him into custody.
Within about a block, three more people were found stabbed, Carter said.
Carter said UT police decided not to put the campus on lockdown because White was immediately taken into custody.
UT students and employees have been expressing annoyance on social media that they heard about this from campus media, local media and the UT community before a campus alert went out.
Austin-Travis County EMS reported that they had taken three people with potentially serious injuries to University Medical Center Brackenridge.
“We ask that all our students call home,” UT President Gregory L. Fenves said. “Call your parents to let them know you’re safe.”
Concerned parents of UT students can call a hotline at 1-866-657-9400 for more information on today's events, Carter said.
University officials said they have canceled classes and events on campus for the rest of Monday because the investigation into the attack has limited access to buildings.
Carter said White’s motive for the attack was unknown. He also said upwards of 25 witnesses, mostly students, would be interviewed.
According to an arrest affidavit, police arrested White on April 4 for driving while intoxicated after he was involved in a wreck on campus.
He told officers that he takes "happy pills" and had his blood drawn as part of the arrest.
The affidavit said White was driving a Dodge Charger near Dean Keeton Street and Whitis Avenue when the wreck happened.
The case is pending in Travis County court.
About a dozen Austin police units swarmed responded to provide back up and support university police, which is leading the response to the stabbing, said spokeswoman Amanda Cole.
In response to the incident, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said “our prayers go out to all those affected.”
He said he has "have offered all available state resources" to assist in any effort.
Fenves added in a message posted online: “We all mourn today.”
PHOTOS: Scene of reported fatal stabbing at UT Austin
In a separate incident, the Belo Center for New Media was briefly evacuated after a reported bomb threat. But university police said the building was not under lockdown and is open. “There is no immediate threat at this time,” they said.
A sign had been draped across the building’s sky bridge with the words “Tuition Pays for Bombs” before it was taken down.
Austin police said at 4:24 p.m. that there was no credibility to reports of a separate stabbing in West Campus near 24th and 25th streets.
Last week, university police alerted the campus about a drive-by shooting near Dean Keeton and San Jacinto streets on Thursday. No one was injured, and police said neither the shooter or his target were affiliated with the university.
The incident also comes about 13 months after the slaying of Haruka Weiser, 18, a freshman theater and dance student from Portland, Ore., whose body was found April 5, 2016, on the bank of Waller Creek near the UT alumni center. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted, authorities say.
WATCH: Witness describes stabbing at UT campus
Weiser's death sparked an outcry from UT parents concerned for the safety of their children, and a review and overhaul of campus safety protocols. The Texas Department of Public Safety concluded that UT needed more police officers, more lighting and more video surveillance. UT was also urged to keep homeless people and others with no particular reason to be on campus away, and to make sure people who aren't supposed to be in UT buildings can't get in.
Some recommendations led to quick changes, such as the removal of dense vegetation to improve visibility in walking areas along Waller Creek, where Weiser was killed. Lighting has been improved on Speedway, a major north-south pedestrian route that runs through campus. Door locks to College of Fine Arts buildings have been installed that only allow people with UT IDs to come in at certain times of the day.
But even though the university is making progress, the size of the campus represents a challenge. Fully implementing the DPS recommendations and upgrading the university's 164 buildings will take months, if not years. Officials have said there is some debate as to the usefulness of outfitting larger areas of the campus with closed circuit security cameras.
And the UT Police Department, which had increased its authorized force from 67 cops to 99 in recent years, is still working to reach its full strength due to lengthy hiring procedures and training.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct Kendrex White’s age.
