University of Texas Shooter

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/29/texas.university.shooting/index.html?npt=NP1

http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/colton-tooley-what-we-know-about-the-suspected-ut-shooter/19652387

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/ut-shooter-colton-tooley-_n_743147.html

Colton Tooley

I chose to cover the University of Texas shooter, Colton Tooley.  The facts of the case are as follows: around 8:10, 19-year-old Colton Tooley began shooting an AK-47 around campus before moving into the library and committing suicide.  Tooley was a sophomore math major who had graduated 7^th in his high-school class.  The case is being presented in a very episodic format without any clear connection to underlying problems or widespread trends.  The CNN article notes that the area suffered another lone gunman 14 years prior but didn’t make any connections between the two.  Honestly, I expected there to be at least a paragraph talking about gun control, or limiting weapons on college campuses, but there weren’t any.  I don’t think this story is widespread or popular enough to enter into the category of crime entertainment.  I personally don’t enjoy reading or hearing about student gunmen (or gunwomen) on campuses.  I like to believe that college students don’t do things like that and stories like this challenge that worldview.  If this story was more sensational and traumatic (if he actually killed someone) then perhaps there would have been more of a follow-up that tends to lead toward crime entertainment and CJ policy suggestions (symbolic crime).