Youtube video by AP, copyright 2014.
A student of Purdue University becomes the latest victim of a shooting which occurred in the basement classroom in the Electrical Engineering department inside the university campus. A 21 year old electrical engineering student, Andrew Boldt, was identified as the victim who died on the spot. Shots were heard by other students and staff at around noon following which, others were alerted through text alert system to warn about the shooting and soon the whole university was evacuated. The classes were suspended for the day and the officials offered to provide counseling services for those who needed. The classes however were resumed from the next day and staff students carried on with their daily activities but some were still in a state of shock.
The police have identified and captured one suspect who was allegedly involved in the shooting. They believe he was the only one involved and has been taken into custody. The suspect Cody Cousins of Ohio was arrested and sent to Tippecanoe County Jail where the police questioned him about the whole incident. Both the victim and the suspect were working as teaching assistants in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Engineering department respectively under the tutelage of professor David Meyer. According to the police the suspect showed no resistance and wasn’t even armed. The police say that he is not cooperating with them. They have been unable to establish any connection between the suspect and the victim. However, the police claim that the victim was targeted specifically and there is surely a motive behind the attack.
This latest shooting incident in a university shows that the gun culture is still very prevalent among students who are under a lot of stress and some serious steps definitely needs to be taken to control this menace.