The incident, at the Virginia Tech University near Washington, resulted in a morning of anxiety for her mother, Janice Brook, of Mosgiel.
A gunman ambushed and killed a campus police officer yesterday morning (New Zealand time) and was later reported to have been found dead at the university, which was the site of one of the worst shooting rampages in US history.
In April 2007, a student killed 32 people and wounded 25 before committing suicide on the school's rural campus in the Shenandoah Valley, about 400km from Washington.
Mrs Brook said yesterday she was not concerned about her daughter's safety at the university, in part because of the measures that had been put in place following the 2007 event.
"It's probably one of the safest places because of that," she said.
Rebekah (22), one of the most promising female soccer players to come from Dunedin, was awarded a scholarship to the university after being put through her paces by a visiting scout.
Mrs Brook said she heard about the incident when she woke yesterday morning and checked the university internet site, which she does daily.
"Rebekah had sent me an email about the same time, telling me not to freak out," she said.
The email said the campus was in lockdown.
Rebekah, who was doing a PhD at the university in instructional design and technology, an education-based subject, was stuck in the lab for about four hours, her mother said.
The lockdown system was used when anything suspicious happened.
Mrs Brook said the shooting occurred when a police officer stopped a driver, and such events were not just a US problem.
