A student of University of Utah was shot dead Monday night on campus and the suspect was still at large.

The fatal incident took place at about 9:00 p.m. local time (0300 GMT) when several students on campus reported having heard a male suspect arguing with a female student and then later gunshots.

Police started searching the campus and the university issued an emergency alert to all students, asking them to seek shelter on campus. Pictures shared online show that a dozen of officers patrolled on campus with guns and dogs.

Until about 11:50 p.m. (0550 GMT), the campus was declared safe but the suspect, who was identified as 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, fled from the scene on foot.

"One student is confirmed deceased," the University tweeted midnight, adding all morning and evening classes would be cancelled on Tuesday.

The local Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper reported that when police arrived, they found the female student's body inside a car near the medical towers, and they believed she had a "previous relationship with" Rowland, who was convicted of attempted forcible sex abuse and enticing a minor over the Internet in 2004.

The University of Utah was also the scene of a deadly shooting almost one year ago, when Austin Boutain fired five shots into a car, killing 23-year-old international student Chenwei Guo, a computer science major from China.

Boutain pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced to life in prison.