Las Vegas, Nevada - "Multiple victims" were reported in a shooting at a university on Wednesday, with police saying a short time later the suspect was dead.

Students and members of the public had been told to avoid the area after reports of an active shooter on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip.

"We are responding to preliminary reports of an #ActiveShooter on the campus of UNLV near BEAM Hall," the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department wrote on social media around midday local time.

"There appears to be multiple victims at this time. Please avoid the area."

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Around half an hour later the department said: "The suspect has been located and is deceased."

The university urged people to shelter in place.

One woman told local broadcaster KVVU that she had heard a series of loud noises and fled into a building on the campus, from which she was later evacuated by police.

"I was just having breakfast, and then I heard three, like, loud booms," she told the station.

"Then two more, and then police showed up there and ran inside... but then after two minutes boom, boom, boom, more shots. So I ran into a basement, and then we were in the basement for 20 minutes."

It was not immediately clear how many people had been affected, and if there were any fatalities, but CNN reported one man had been taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Three people were killed and another critically injured in Wednesday's shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"According to our investigators at the scene, we have three deceased victims and one additional victim in critical condition at a local hospital," the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department wrote on social media, adding, "the suspect in this #ActiveShooter incident is also deceased."

No further information has been provided about the victims.