A Shocking Day on Campus

Yesterday began with a shock, and the events that occurred will remain in the history of the University of Texas at Austin as a warning to always be prepared for the worst.

At approximately 8:22 a.m., a mass text message went out to everyone on the UT listserve stating that an armed suspect was reported last seen at the Perry Castaneda Library, known as the PCL.

Perry Castaneda Library

Fortunately, I have no morning classes this semester and was just getting out of bed when I received the text.  For those students who were on campus, everyone would be placed on lockdown for the next four hours.

My roommates and I made sure we were all still at home and not on campus and immediately got on Facebook to check for updates from our friends on campus.  Status updates were ahead of the local news, and I learned there was a gunman with an AK47 (of all things!) dressed in a black suit and ski mask.  Pretty quickly after hearing the news, it was reported that the gunman shot himself on the sixth floor of the PCL.

But that wasn’t the end of the fiasco.  It was suspected that a second gunman was still at large.  That idea scared me the most, because I began to think the first gunman was some sort of distraction or part one of the scandal and his partner was planning another attack or suicide somewhere else.

Of course, in crisis situations people’s imaginations can get the best of them, and it turned out there was no other gunman – thankfully.  Students had given police mixed descriptions of the one and only gunman, so the police force played it safe by searching the campus to make sure no other suspect existed.

Littlefield Fountain

The full story begins with the troubled gunman walking, with a smile on his face, in his black suit and black ski mask to the Littlefield Fountain, AK47 in hand.  He shot off four rounds near the fountain, in no particular direction.  Not many students and staff were around this early in the morning, but the ones who were immediately contacted police.

Campus police were on scene almost instantly and followed the gunman into the PCL.  A student who was just inside the PCL said he watched the masked gunman walk past him and go directly to the stairs.  As we know, the gunman took his life on the top floor of the library.

UT PD and Austin PD did a great job patrolling the scene, but truth be told, we got lucky.  The gunman, who was officially identified as sophomore math major, Colton Tooley, could have been a greater terror than he proved to be.

I personally think his suicide mission was supposed to have involved a few – if not many – deaths of those on the UT campus that fateful morning.  Whether he lost the nerve or just wanted to go out with a bang (no pun intended), the UT community can be grateful that there were no other injuries or deaths involved.

Keep your heads high and your horns up!

As we reflect on the incident, we should all remember that life is a gift, and we should help brighten the days of those around us.  Happiness is contagious, and no one’s life should be taken for granted – especially not your own.