Somali’s terrorist group, the Al-Shabaab, in an early morning raid today killed 15 people and wounded at least 65 others at Garissa University in North east Kenya.

Kenyan authorities say a member of the extremist group, which is currently holding an unknown number of students hostage in a dormitory in the university, located at the border between Kenya and Somalia, has been arrested. Local media, however, claim that one suspect was killed. It is not known if it is the same suspect who was arrested earlier.

A witness told CNN that the attackers “released gunshots which went off like fireworks” when they laid siege on the school, adding that the attackers were more than ten.

Secretary General of the Red Cross in Nairobi, Abbas Gullet, said at least 65 wounded people, including students and staff of the school, have been conveyed out of the premises of the school which has a student population of over 815.

He said out of the injured, 15 have been flown to Nairobi for medical attention while seven more would follow soon. He said that the degree of injuries ranged from gunshot wounds to multiple injuries occasioned by the stampede generated by the attack. Authorities say 550 people are currently unaccounted for.

Security forces say a specialized anti-terror unit has been sent to the scene adding that the standoff would soon end as the militants had been restricted to one dormitory where they are still holding a number of students hostage.

Rescued students said there had been an alert indicating the possibility of the attack but many had taken it as an ‘April fool’ joke.

Meanwhile Kenyan authorities have appealed to its citizenry for blood donation to assist the victims currently undergoing medical attention.

It would be recalled that the group had carried out similar attacks in the past in the Garissa region. Also in September 2013, the terrorist organization killed 67 in a shopping mall in Kenya.