Gunmen attacked a university in south central Kenya before
dawn Thursday, firing indiscriminately and sending students scrambling for
cover, witnesses and media reports said.
At least 30 people were hospitalized from the attack at
Garissa University College, most of them with gunshot wounds, the Kenya Red
Cross said.
The gunshots started
going off "like fireworks" around 5 a.m., at the time of morning
prayers, witness Milka Ndung'u told CNN affiliate NTV. She and others escaped
to a field, but gunshots followed them.
Augustine Alanga told
CNN he woke up to the sound of gunfire and described students running around
the dormitories seeking shelter.
It's not clear how
many gunmen were on campus.
"We don't know
how many there were, but there are probably more than 10," said Robert
Alai Onyango, a blogger in Nairobi. "We believe the attackers were wearing
something close to military fatigues."
Onyango said the
gunmen appeared to be shooting indiscriminately and "basically from all
angles."
"They surrounded the mosque ... we don't know why they
were surrounding the mosque," Onyango said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
But Garissa University College is in an area where Al Shabaab militants have
sometimes led raids.
"We are saddened & angered by today's terrorist
attack @ #Garissa Univ.," the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi tweeted. "Our
deepest condolences 2 family/friends of victims. #CowardsNeverWin"
What is Al-Shabaab,
and what does it want?
Last month, the U.S.
Embassy warned of possible attacks "throughout Kenya in the
near-term" following the reported death of a a key al-Shabaab leader, Adan
Garaar.
"Although there
is no information about a specific location in Kenya for an attack, U.S.
citizens are reminded that the potential for terrorism exists," the
warning said.
CNN's Brian Walker and Dakota Flournoy contributed to this
report.
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