Are school shootings and guns on campus becoming commonplace at this time? Today, Tuesday, January 22, 2013 there was a school shooting at Lone Star College in Harris County in Texas. According to CNN it appears to have been two shooters shooting at each other. There were five to six shots. There were three people shot, two wounded males are considered persons of interest and another male has been identified as a maintenance man. The second shooter was able to escape campus. The college is now in lock-down, no one allowed off or on the campus. Other schools in the area are also on lock-down (ABC, CNN).
Lone Star College is a part of the publicly funded two-year college system. The shooting took place on the North Harris Campus with a total of about 18,000 students. This campus has the only courses in the area of study in automotive technology, health information technology, child development and family studies, paralegal studies, and pharmacy technology programs.
From witness reports on CNN the shooting started in the library with six shots in the building where the witness, Amanda Vasquez was on the first floor. She was barricaded in the classroom, hiding under a desk, calling her mother to tell her she loved her. It is not clear from various other reports whether the shootings began in the library or an administration building or if someone was shot in the leg. Authorities state that the shootings took place between buildings. Other fallout from this shooting is that someone suffered a heart attack during the shooting.
In Texas individuals are allowed to carry a concealed weapon. However, on a school campus it is not allowed. The issue of gun control and gun laws is a huge issue being discussed politically after the shootings in Sandy Hook, Connecticut and California last week. Harris County is the largest county in Texas with a population of 4.1 million.
According to KHOU.com the shooter has been identified as Carlton Berry, 22-years-old. Law enforcement reports around 2:15 p.m., the alleged shooter turned himself in at Northwest Medical Center with a gunshot wound. One of the shooters may have shot himself putting his gun away. It is not known whether the shooter was a student.
Should we learn to expect gun violence? Was it a case of bullying? Is gun control the answer? The University will be open tomorrow according to the authorities (AP).
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