Gunman Opens Fire on UT Campus, Shoots Self

On Tuesday morning, a student wearing a dark suit and a ski mask opened fire with an assault rifle at the University of Texas Austin Campus. He then fled to the library where he committed suicide.

The shooting happened at around 8:30 this morning, a time when many would agree that the UT library is crowded with students.

Within hours of the shooting university officials gave an all clear, but the school still remained closed as the area was still considered a crime scene. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo expects the school to be up and running again by Wednesday morning.

The gun man was identified as Colton Tooley, a 19 year old math major at the university. Police have no given a possible motive for the shooting. It is also unclear of the gunman was targeting anyone with the AK 47.

The school, which has about 50,000 students, remained on lockdown while officers and dogs carried out a manhunt. After the gunfire authorities searched for a second shooter, but eventually concluded that the gunman acted alone.

This is not the first time this campus has seen a shooting. In August of 1966 UT saw one of the most horrifying school shootings in U.S. history. Four decades ago Charles Whitman went to the 28th floor observation deck at the UT clock tower and began shooting at people below. By the time police finally killed Whitman he had killed 19 people and wounded nearly three dozen.

Sources:

Yahoo News