Garissa University College attack

2015 Garissa University College attack
Location of Garissa Town in Kenya
Location	Garissa, Kenya
Coordinates	0°26′56″S 39°39′43″E / 0.449019°S 39.661925°E / -0.449019; 39.661925
Date	2 April 2015 (2015-04-02) 05:30 (local time) (UTC+03:00)
Target	students
Attack type	Hostage-taking, mass shooting
Weapons	AK-47s and explosive belts
Deaths	152 (including 4 attackers)
Non-fatal injuries	79
Perpetrators	Al-Shabaab
Motive	Kenyan bases on Somali land

On 2 April 2015, gunmen stormed the Garissa University College in Garissa, Kenya, killing 148 people, and injuring 79 or more. The militant group and Al-Qaeda offshoot, Al-Shabaab, which the gunmen claimed to be from, took responsibility for the attack. The gunmen took over 700 students hostage, freeing Muslims and killing those who identified as Christians. The siege ended the same day, when all four of the attackers were killed. Five men were later arrested in connection with the attack, and a bounty was placed for the arrest of a suspected organizer.

The attack was the deadliest in Kenya since the 1998 United States embassy bombings, and is the second deadliest overall, with more casualties than the 2002 Mombasa attacks, the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack, the 2014 Nairobi bus bombings, the 2014 Gikomba bombings, the 2014 Mpeketoni attacks and the 2014 Lamu attacks.

Garissa, in the North Eastern Province around 200 km from the border with Somalia, was considered as "one of the safest spots in the region". It housed both military barracks and police headquarters. Al-Shabaab, a multi-ethnic militant group based in Somalia with links to Al-Qaeda, had killed over 200 people in Kenya in the two years prior to the event, in attacks like the 2013 Westgate shopping mall shooting. These attacks significantly affected Kenya's tourism industry, although prior to Al-Shabaab's existence, the 2002 Mombasa attacks also targeted tourists. Previously, many of the militant group's attacks were outside major urban population centers.