Biggles of 266
1st Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2001
- Messages
- 1,128
- Points
- 36
just terrible... anyone who lives in Arizona, I'm really sorry.
Four people were killed today at a US university nursing school after an angry student shot at least two professors before killing himself, officials said.
"As far as we know four people are dead as the result of the shooting, including two members of the teaching staff," a spokeswoman for the University of Arizona police force told AFP on condition on anonymity.
"One of the dead is believed to be the gunman, while a fourth victim was found later in a separate location in the building," she said, adding that the university's college of nursing and surrounding buildings had been evacuated.
Tucson Police Chief Richard Miranda said officers suspected that the gunman may have been carrying a bomb in a backpack found under his body or in his car.
"We had information that the suspect had threatened to blow up the building and we called out our explosives people to evaluate that situation," he said adding that a sniffer dog had detected possible traces of explosives in the gunman's car.
Eyewitnesses told KOLD television in Tucson that the killer was a student who lost his temper and shot two female professors with a handgun after he was barred from taking a set of examinations.
"He lost his cool and ended up shooting the teachers numerous times," one student told KOLD. "The teachers told him he could not take his mid-terms (exams)."
"He proceeded to tell the class to calm down and everything would be fine," the eyewitness added.
The man shot one professor, sending students screaming out of a classroom, before killing the second professor and shooting himself, the witness said.
A fourth victim was found in another part of the building about half an hour after the gunman turned his weapon on himself, university police said. It was unclear whether the fourth casualty was a member of staff.
KOLD quoted other witnesses as saying that the gunman was "an older student" who works at a Tucson hospital, adding that he was disgruntled with his instructors after having recently failed a set of exams.
Student Mabel Alvarez-Thornhill was among around 30 students who were writing an exam at around 8.30am (0130 AEDT) when the gunman walked into the classroom.
She told the Tucson Citizen through her husband that the gunman was "calm and armed with extra clips", before telling his victims: "Make your peace with God."
University officials said the college of nursing had been evacuated and that people in a nearby building had been told to stay where they were.
The United States has been terrorised by a string of mass shootings in recent years, several of them high schools.
In April 1999, two student gunmen killed 12 other students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado before killing themselves.
In February 2000, a six-year-old Michigan schoolgirl was shot by one of her classmates, while in March 2001, a pupil opened fire at a school near San Diego in California, killing two students and injuring 13 others.
On Saturday, an armed teenager went on the rampage in the southern state of Oklahoma, killing two people and leaving at least six others injured.
The right of citizens to bear arms is protected under the US constitution.
Four people were killed today at a US university nursing school after an angry student shot at least two professors before killing himself, officials said.
"As far as we know four people are dead as the result of the shooting, including two members of the teaching staff," a spokeswoman for the University of Arizona police force told AFP on condition on anonymity.
"One of the dead is believed to be the gunman, while a fourth victim was found later in a separate location in the building," she said, adding that the university's college of nursing and surrounding buildings had been evacuated.
Tucson Police Chief Richard Miranda said officers suspected that the gunman may have been carrying a bomb in a backpack found under his body or in his car.
"We had information that the suspect had threatened to blow up the building and we called out our explosives people to evaluate that situation," he said adding that a sniffer dog had detected possible traces of explosives in the gunman's car.
Eyewitnesses told KOLD television in Tucson that the killer was a student who lost his temper and shot two female professors with a handgun after he was barred from taking a set of examinations.
"He lost his cool and ended up shooting the teachers numerous times," one student told KOLD. "The teachers told him he could not take his mid-terms (exams)."
"He proceeded to tell the class to calm down and everything would be fine," the eyewitness added.
The man shot one professor, sending students screaming out of a classroom, before killing the second professor and shooting himself, the witness said.
A fourth victim was found in another part of the building about half an hour after the gunman turned his weapon on himself, university police said. It was unclear whether the fourth casualty was a member of staff.
KOLD quoted other witnesses as saying that the gunman was "an older student" who works at a Tucson hospital, adding that he was disgruntled with his instructors after having recently failed a set of exams.
Student Mabel Alvarez-Thornhill was among around 30 students who were writing an exam at around 8.30am (0130 AEDT) when the gunman walked into the classroom.
She told the Tucson Citizen through her husband that the gunman was "calm and armed with extra clips", before telling his victims: "Make your peace with God."
University officials said the college of nursing had been evacuated and that people in a nearby building had been told to stay where they were.
The United States has been terrorised by a string of mass shootings in recent years, several of them high schools.
In April 1999, two student gunmen killed 12 other students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado before killing themselves.
In February 2000, a six-year-old Michigan schoolgirl was shot by one of her classmates, while in March 2001, a pupil opened fire at a school near San Diego in California, killing two students and injuring 13 others.
On Saturday, an armed teenager went on the rampage in the southern state of Oklahoma, killing two people and leaving at least six others injured.
The right of citizens to bear arms is protected under the US constitution.
