Tenn. Man Holds College Classroom Hostage

[Seraphim]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=12&u=/ap/20030917/ap_on_re_us/college_gunman


DYERSBURG, Tenn. - A man with a gun and a knife took college students and a teacher hostage Wednesday afternoon, a state education official said.



No injuries were immediately reported in the standoff at a classroom of Dyersburg State Community College.


School president Karen Bowyer called the state Board of Regents office in Nashville to report the standoff, regents spokeswoman Mary Morgan said.


About 22 students were enrolled in the class but Bowyer told the Nashville officials that there might be less than a dozen in the classroom. One faculty member also was being held hostage, she said.


There were no reports of shots being fired, Morgan said.


Bowyer told the Nashville office that college officials thought the gunman might be a student but they didn't know what sparked the incident about 75 miles northeast of Memphis.


Athletic Director Alan Barnett said that authorities cleared the campus of other students.


"Police ordered all students to evacuate, but employees could stay," Barnett said in a telephone interview. "We had students coming in since it happened, but everyone is gone now."


Bowyer's office is in that building, but she was off campus at a luncheon meeting, Morgan said.

[Skaman]

Am I surprised, not at all. These school weapon scenarios have become a common occurance in the USA sadly.

[SOG]

over 200 million people in the us and a nutjob a year goes nuts at school and thats common? wow........ perception is everything.

[NcDeuce]

Dyersburg, hmm...I think that's in Western TN. You gotta watch out for our sneaky, drunk country folk!

[Zach R.]

Hey, don't hate the redneck. Hate the game.

[A$$MAN]

The hostage taker who is suicidal claims to be a member of Al Qaeda. They have not released his name, but most likely suicide by cop.

[Seraphim]

Police: Gunman at Tenn. College Shot Dead


By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer

DYERSBURG, Tenn. - A gunman held at least a dozen people hostage in a college classroom before he was shot and killed by police after a nine-hour standoff. Two hostages were wounded.



Police rushed into the building at Dyersburg State Community College around 10 p.m. after hearing shots. Authorities said the gunman, 26-year-old Harold Kilpatrick Jr., had left a note saying he "wanted to kill some people and die today."


Dyersburg Police Chief Bobby Williamson initially said Kilpatrick fatally shot himself, but he later confirmed that officers shot him.


"Our people shot one — the hostage-taker — and two others were wounded," Williamson said.


It was not immediately clear whether the two hostages were wounded by police or Kilpatrick. Williamson said the injuries to the hostages were not serious.


Four ambulances were at the college building in Dyersburg, about 75 miles northeast of Memphis. Three people were carried out of the building on stretchers. Police escorted several other people from the building.


The gunman, believed to have had a 9mm pistol and what looked like a butcher knife, made no demands — aside from food and drink — during the standoff. In the evening, he asked for six pepperoni pizzas and two six-packs of soft drinks, which police delivered.


The gunman claimed to be a member of al-Qaida, and Williamson said that although authorities had no reason to believe the claim, the FBI (news - web sites) had been called in. Justice Department (news - web sites) officials in Washington also said they had no evidence that the gunman was a member of the terrorist organization.


Authorities said Kilpatrick, of Memphis, was staying with his sister in Dyersburg. In the suicide note, left at his sister's house, he also said he didn't like Americans and had spoken with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), Williamson said.


Kilpatrick faced criminal charges of assault and kidnapping in another case, Dyersburg police spokesman Charles Maxey said. He had no details but said Kilpatrick had been scheduled to appear in a Memphis courtroom Wednesday.


Williamson said there were 12 to 16 people in the basic math classroom when the standoff began. About three hours later, three students were released — all women, one of whom was pregnant. The teacher remained in the classroom.


Officers communicated with the gunman through student hostages on their cell phones, but Kilpatrick wouldn't speak directly to police, Williamson said.


Police said Kilpatrick was not a student or college employee. They talked to his sister at the scene, but the gunman wouldn't talk to her, Williamson said.


A SWAT team and about five hostage negotiators were among the officers called to the scene.


Athletic director Alan Barnett said that authorities cleared the campus of other students.

[martinexsquaddie]

well 50 million people and no school hostage taking but the boxheads have got on the score board