Latest developments:
— 7:07 a.m. ET: Heavy gunfire and explosions continue at Garissa University College, more than nine hours after the attack began, CNN affiliate NTV says. Hundreds of students flee, some crawling.
— 6:22 a.m. ET: At least 15 people have been killed by gunmen who attacked a Kenyan university Thursday, officials said, according to CNN affiliate Citizen TV. The officials said 550 people are still unaccounted for at the campus that had about 815 students.
— 6:22 a.m. ET: The officials said one terrorist has been arrested as he tried to slip through the security cordon and flee the scene.
— 5:35 a.m. ET: At least 65 people are hospitalized from the attack, the Kenyan Red Cross said.
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Gunmen attacked a university in south central Kenya before dawn Thursday, firing indiscriminately and sending students scrambling for cover.
At least 30 people were hospitalized from the attack at Garissa University College, most of them with gunshot wounds, the Kenya Red Cross said.
Garissa is about 90 miles from the border with Somalia. And while no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Al-Shabaab militants have often launched attacks inside Kenya from Somalia in the past since the Kenyan government sent in troops across the border to fight the group.
The gunshots started going off “like fireworks” around 5 a.m., at the time of morning prayers, witness Milka Ndung’u told Media. 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 attackers 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.
About 300 students who escaped university sought refuge at a Kenya Defense Forces camp, local newspaper journalist Steven Astariko said.
