U. of Texas Gunman Kills Self in Library
AUSTIN, Texas — UPDATE: A gunman opened fire Tuesday morning at the University of Texas (UT), Austin’s library that resulted in the death of the shooter by his own hand, authorities said.
Shortly after 8 a.m., Colton Tooley, a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in math at UT, entered the school’s Perry-Castaneda Library and allegedly fired several shots with an AK-47 rifle. The suspect, who was wearing black clothing and a mask, then headed to the sixth floor, where he shot himself, Gary Susswein, a university spokesman, tells Campus Safety Magazine.
“No one else was injured in the gunfire,” Susswein said.
The university was immediately placed on lockdown, meaning students, faculty, staff and visitors could not leave. An alert system, including an emergency siren, loud speaker, emergency text messages and online communications informed the UT community of the incident.
Watch video: UT Alert System Worked Well During Shooting
The Austin Police Department’s SWAT unit arrived at the scene with an armored rescue vehicle to help secure the perimeter and provide assistance to university police officials in searching for a second suspect, according to a department spokeswoman.
At around noon local time, the campus lifted the lockdown, and closed the campus, cancelling all classes.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told the Houston Chronicle that police are investigating two crime scenes — the library and a second location where “some rounds were fired outdoors.”
Two students were treated for minor injuries that appeared to have happened while they were evacuating, reports Statesman.com. Shuttle buses transported students off campus during the incident.
Initially, police believed a second gunman was involved in the incident because of differing descriptions of the shooter, according to MSNBC.com. However, officials do not believe there is a second suspect.
Sophomore Dan Culpepper said the gunman did not seem as if he wanted to hurt anyone because he had the opportunity to shoot others, but chose not to. (Watch Culpepper’s interview with the Houston Chronicle below).
UT was the scene of an active shooter incident on Aug. 1, 1966. During that incident, student and ex-Marine Charles Whitman went to the 28th floor observation deck at the UT clock tower and began shooting at people below. He killed 14 people and wounded 32 others before police killed him about 90 minutes after the siege began.
Related articles:
- Virginia Tech 1 Year Later: How Campuses Have Responded
- Columbine 10 Years Later: The State of School Safety Today
- Clery Compliance Part 2: Emergency Response, Notification Guidelines
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