AN overnight confrontation between two groups of students escalated into gunfire yesterday when a first-year student at Northern Arizona University killed one person and wounded three others.

University police chief Gregory Fowler identified the gunman as Steven Jones and said he used a pistol in the shootings in the town of Flagstaff at about 1.20am yesterday.

Both university and Flagstaff police are investigating.

“This is not going to be a normal day at NAU,” said university president Rita Cheng. “Our hearts are heavy.”

She called it an isolated and unprecedented incident.

The shooting took place in a car park just outside Mountain View Hall dormitory on the Flagstaff campus, which provides housing for many of the campus student societies.

Arizona politicians voiced support for the university and surrounding community, with Governor Doug Ducey calling the shooting heartbreaking.

The shooting follows one at an Oregon college last week.