02-13-2010, 10:39 AM
Hell hath no fury like...
3 Die in Shooting at U. Alabama-Huntsville
3 Die in Shooting at U. Alabama-Huntsville
Quote:HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Feb. 12, 2010
Shooter Allegedly Opened Fire After Denied Tenure, CBS News Affiliate Reports; 3 Other People Injured
Three people were killed and several more injured in a shooting Friday in a science building at the [regionally accredited] University of Alabama's Huntsville campus, university officials said.
A woman was in custody, but university spokesman Ray Garner said he could not identify her or the victims. Local television stations reported she is a faculty member.
A source tells CBS News affiliate WHNT-TV in Huntsville that the suspect is a faculty member who was denied tenure at the university. After being denied tenure in the morning, the suspect walked into a biology department faculty meeting Friday afternoon and opened fire, WHNT-TV reports.
WHNT-TV reports that three victims were injured in the shooting. Two of those victims are in critical condition at a hospital, the TV station reports.
Two of the injured victims are men and one is a woman, WHNT-TV reports. Huntsville Hospital spokesman Burr Ingram confirmed that description of the victims. The gender of the victims in critical condition was not clear.
None of the victims were students, WHNT-TV reports. Garner told reporters Friday night that, of the six people shot, five are faculty members and one is a staff member. The staff member was in critical condition, Garner said. The three people who died were faculty members, he said.
At one time, Huntsville Hospital was told to expect as many as 10 victims, WHNT-TV reports.
WHNT-TV reports that a man and a woman were in custody. Garner told reporters Friday night that the man was detained for questioning, not arrested, by Huntsville police.
Earlier, university spokesman Ray Garner said one suspect is in custody.
Sophomore Erin Johnson tells The Huntsville Times a biology faculty meeting was under way when she heard screams coming from the room.
The shooting happened Friday afternoon in the university's Shelby Center, a science building. University police secured the building and students were cleared from it.
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby released a statement to WHNT-TV about the shooting.
"I am deeply saddened to hear of this horrible tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the faculty and staff of the University of Alabama-Huntsville," the statement reads.
The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line.
The university posted a message on its Web site Friday afternoon telling students the campus was closed Friday night and all students were encouraged to go home. Counselors were available to speak with students.
Garner said the campus was closed while police gathered evidence. He said at a news conference that the shooting was not unlike one the area experienced a week ago, when a 14-year-old student was shot to death in a middle school hallway, allegedly by a fellow student.
"This town is unaccustomed to shootings and multiple deaths," he said.
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