Two people were fatally shot and at least four others injured at the University of North Carolina Charlotte on Tuesday, the last day of classes, the authorities said.

The U.N.C. Police Department said that three people were in critical condition, and that a fourth had non-life-threatening injuries.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said that one suspect was in custody and that it did not believe there were other gunmen. The motive for the shooting was unclear.

Just before 6 p.m., the campus’s office of emergency management reported that shots were fired near the Kennedy Building, an administrative building in the middle of campus.

Katie Ballard, 24, a graduate student in gerontology, was sitting in a classroom in a nearby building when her professor stepped out. The professor came back in and said she heard somebody had been shot. Then an alert popped up on a projector screen at the front of the class saying that gunshots had been fired close by.

“Run, Hide, Fight,” the alert said. “Secure yourself immediately.”

Ms. Ballard ran with about 30 other students to an empty room nearby and locked the doors.

Ms. Ballard never heard any gunshots, but she heard helicopters buzzing while locked in the room. She heard students running up and down the halls. Through the window, she saw a man who had been shot in the abdomen. A handful of paramedics crouched around him, tending to his wounds.

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“It was so surreal,” Ms. Ballard said. “I just felt all the blood leave my face. I felt there’s no way this is real.”

Eventually, she said, “the police came and knocked on the door, and we were all escorted out with our hands above our head.”

Videos posted on Twitter showed police officers running in one direction while students streamed in the other direction.

“We are in shock to learn of an active shooter situation on the campus of UNC Charlotte,” Vi Lyles, the mayor of Charlotte, said in a tweet. “My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives, those injured, the entire UNCC community and the courageous first responders who sprang into action to help others.”

It was the final day of classes for the school year, and graduation ceremonies are scheduled for early May. Some students were getting ready for the summer break, and some were planning to attend an on-campus concert featuring the rapper Waka Flocka Flame, which was canceled after the shooting.

“I’m horrified to hear about the shooting at UNC Charlotte,” United States Representative Alma Adams said on Twitter. “I encourage everyone to adhere to emergency personnel and stay safe. My office is monitoring the situation and my thoughts are with everyone on campus.”

The episode was one more in a series of deadly shootings that have made headlines across the United States. It happened three days after a gunman opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, Calif., killing a congregant there, and came on the heels of anniversaries of other deadly school shootings. It has been a little more than one year since 17 people were killed in Parkland, Fla., and two decades since 13 were killed at Columbine High School.

U.N.C. Charlotte is a public university with an enrollment of about 30,000. It is the largest postsecondary educational institution in the Charlotte area.

Jo Constantz contributed reporting.

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