The suicide of University of Texas student Colton Tooley, 19, on Tuesday, with an AK-47 has raised again the issue of allowing students to have guns for self-defense, says the Houston Chronicle. Daniel Crocker of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said, “It’s fortunate that the gunman took only his own life and injured nobody else, but students and faculty deserve options beyond relying on the altruism – or poor aim of a madman.”
State Sen. Rodney Ellis said guns on campus could create confusion for police in a situation such as Tuesday’s. “Allowing guns on campus will do little to improve the safety of students and could, in fact, make dangerous situations that much more deadly by creating confusion for law enforcement,” he said. Tooley terrorized the campus for more than 30 minutes by firing four shots into the air before running into a library, dashing up a stairwell screaming, and taking his own life. The shooting caused a campus lockdown as differing witness descriptions prompted a search for a second shooter. Helicopters circled overhead. Classes were canceled for the day. When police finally allowed people to leave campus, students had to do so with their hands in the air.