We’ve had a shooting here on campus at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (my alma matter and the place where I work). Press coverage is sketchy at best (and web coverage, save this post, nonexistent) but it’s been confirmed a murder suicided at the moment. No names have been released. It happened in Kimpel Hall, where I spent most of my undergraduate life, as it is the home of, among other things, the English department.
It’s a very sad thing. I feel physically ill from it. Fayetteville is a peaceful place. It’s sad that people think of violence as the only solution to their problems, and it’s sad that the gun lobby and it’s voicebox, the NRA, has done such a good job convincing people that we all need to carry hand guns to protect ourselves. Of course it takes more than the gun. It also takes the will to use it–the incredible lack of vision that is necessary for someone to carry out such an action. But having a handgun at the ready shortens the distance between thought and action.
It’s a sad day here. We wait for further details…