Garissa University College was stormed by Al Qaeda-allied militant group Al-Shabab in northeast Kenya early Thursday, with the gunmen targeting Christians, killing at least 15 people, and creating a hostage situation.
"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshot — nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," said Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union,
The Associated Press reported.
"The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swaihi for we are al-Shabab)," he added.
Wetangula said that the college campus has six dorms and roughly 900 students.
"The next thing, we saw people in military uniform through the window of the back of our rooms who identified themselves as the Kenyan military," he said, explaining that the soldier took him and others to safety.
After the chaos had settled into a stalemate between the Al-Shabab militants and the Kenyan military, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta made a statement to the media.
"I am saddened to inform the Nation that early today, terrorists attacked Garissa University College killed and wounded several people and have taken others hostage," he said.
He said that in addition to the at least 15 killed, 60 were confirmed injured, and the hostage situation was ongoing.
Around 5 p.m. on Thursday,
The Associated Press reported that police were not offering a $220,000 bounty for Mohammed Mohamud, also known as Dulyadin alias Gamadhere, who is believed to have masterminded the attack.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.