Two campus police officers were shot and killed at a college in the US state of Virginia on Tuesday.
It comes as a student was killed and another wounded in a shooting at a school in Minnesota on the same day.
Two agents, a campus law enforcement officer and a safety officer, were shot before the suspect fled the scene, Virginia State Police said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies arrived on the Bridgewater College campus at around 1.20pm US eastern time in response to active shooter reports, according to a statement.
The suspect, a 27-year-old man named Alexander Wyatt Campbell, was later apprehended, police said. He had a “non-life-threatening gunshot wound".
It was not clear if he had been shot by police or if the wound was self-inflicted. He has been charged with murder, police said.
The town of Bridgewater, about two-and-a-half hours south of Washington, sent out an alert at around 1.30pm warning of an active shooter situation, local media reported.
The school issued an all-clear notice at around 4.30pm.
One student, 21-year-old Kasey Truslow, told The Washington Post she heard a gunshot outside the window of a classroom building.
“After the second shot, we got on the floor. We remained on the floor for an hour,” she said.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said: “My heart is broken tonight by the tragic loss of two officers at Bridgewater College today. These officers were dedicated to the protection of the students and facilty of this college.”
The officers were identified by the school as John Painter and JJ Jefferson. College president David Bushman said: “These officers were close friends, known to many of us as the 'dynamic duo.' John was JJ's best man in his wedding this year. They were beloved by students, faculty and staff. I hurt for their families and loved ones, as I know we all do."
US President Joe Biden, who has called on Congress to enact tougher gun control laws, said he and his wife “are praying for the families of those lost”.
“Gun violence against law enforcement officers is sickening, and it must end,” he said.
The shooting in Minnesota occurred in the town of Richfield just outside of Minneapolis at around noon, officials said, leaving one student dead and another injured.
The attackers opened fire on students on a pavement outside the South Education Centre before speeding away in a car, Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne told the StarTribune newspaper.
Two suspects were later arrested, the paper said, noting friends of the victim had identified the slain student as Jamari Rice, who some local journalists said was the son of Black Lives Matter activist Cortez Rice.
Cortez Rice was arrested last year and charged with attempting to intimidate a judge handling the trial of ex-police officer Kim Potter who killed a black man in April when she said she mixed up her taser with her pistol during a traffic stop.
