A Sordid History of Shootings on US Colleges

The Chronicle for Higher Education compiled a pretty extensive list of shootings on colleges and universities in the US. I don't know if it's exhaustive one but it was clearly a sobering account of so many tragedies after I read them. I couldn't help but notice that the majority of them seem to have occurred in recent years. And there were marked differences between the decades as well from the shooting of student protestors at Kent State during the 1960s, to the 1990s and the recent massacre yesterday at VA Tech. Like I said, I don't know if it's an exhaustive list of all incidents, but I ignore the sudden increase of these shootings in the past decade.

"Major Shootings on American College Campuses"
by Lauren Smith

Following is a list of major shooting incidents on college campuses in the United States.

Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007: At least 33 dead as of Monday afternoon, including the gunman; 26 injured. The gunman opened fire in a dormitory and a classroom building, killing at least 30 people and injuring many others. (Chronicle article.)

University of Texas at Austin, August 1, 1966: 16 dead, including the gunman; 31 injured. From atop a 27-story tower, Charles J. Whitman shot and killed 13 people and wounded 31 others before he was shot dead by police. The night before, Mr. Whitman shot and killed his mother and his wife. During an autopsy, it was discovered that he suffered from a brain tumor that was affecting his limbic system, part of the brain involved with emotion and motivation. (Chronicle article.)

California State University at Fullerton, July 12, 1976: 7 dead; 2 injured. Edward C. Allaway, a custodian at the university, shot and killed seven people in the basement of a library, and injured two others. It was later discovered that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

University of Iowa, November 1, 1991: 6 dead, including the gunman; 1 injured. A Chinese physics student enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the university, Gang Lu, shot and killed five people and left another permanently paralyzed after his doctoral dissertation did not receive a prestigious award. The dead included Mr. Lu's adviser and co-adviser, the student who won the dissertation award, the physics-department chair, and the vice president for academic affairs. (Chronicle article.)

Kent State University, May 4, 1970: 4 dead; 9 injured. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded by members of the Ohio National Guard as they protested the United States' invasion of Cambodia. (Chronicle article.)

University of Arizona Nursing College, October 28, 2002: 4 dead, including the gunman. A 40-year-old failing student shot and killed three instructors before killing himself. (Chronicle article.)

Appalachian School of Law, January 16, 2002: 3 dead; 3 injured. Peter Odighizuwa, a 43-year-old law student from Nigeria, shot and killed the dean, a professor, and a student, and injured three others. (Chronicle article.)

San Diego State University, August 15, 1996: 3 dead. Frederick M. Davidson, a 36-year-old graduate student in engineering, shot and killed three professors while defending his thesis. (Chronicle article.)

Shepherd University, September 2, 2006: 3 dead, including the gunman. Douglas W. Pennington shot and killed his two sons, who were seniors at the university, and then himself. (Chronicle article.)

South Carolina State University, February 8, 1968: 3 dead; 27 injured. After rising racial tension over efforts to desegregate local bowling alleys, South Carolina Highway Patrolmen opened fire on a crowd of protesters.

Jackson State University, May 14, 1970: 2 dead; several injured. Two students were shot to death by local and state police officers during a protest of the United States' invasion of Cambodia. (Chronicle article.)

Simon's Rock College of Bard, December 14, 1992: 2 dead; 4 injured. Wayne Lo shot and killed a professor and a student, and wounded three other students and a security guard, before surrendering to the police. (Chronicle article.)

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, August 28, 2000: 2 dead, including the gunman. James E. Kelly, a 36-year-old graduate student recently dropped from a doctoral program, shot and killed the professor overseeing his work before killing himself. (Chronicle article.)

Case Western Reserve University, May 9, 2003: 1 dead; 2 injured. A 62-year-old alumnus, Biswanath Halder, killed one student and injured two others. He surrendered to authorities after a seven-hour standoff. (Chronicle article.)

Pennsylvania State University at University Park, September 17, 1996: 1 dead; 1 injured. Hiding in bushes outside the university's Hetzel Union Building, 19-year-old Jillian Robbins fired shots at passers-by, killing one and injuring another. (Chronicle article.)