A school shooting on Tuesday rocked Purdue University. According to CNN, a suspect was taken into custody after the shooting took place near the electrical engineering building. The Indiana school’s police chief said that the shooter targeted a single person, then left and was arrested by a city policeman.
According to CNN, the victim, Andrew Boldt, was a 20-something teaching assistant and Purdue student.
The shooter is identified as Cody M. Cousins, from Centerville, Ohio. He has been booked with preliminary murder according to USA Today. No one else was injured.
This was not a random shooting rampage. The Purdue police believe that Cousins entered the basement of the Electrical Engineering building, found and shot Boldt, and then left. Once outside, he did nothing to resist arrest.
“I’m not surprised because I think that this world is kind of screwed up these days and a lot of stuff like that is happening these days,” said Morgan Wolfe, Eastern Michigan University freshman majoring in accounting.
“It’s scary,” said Kayla Channell, EMU junior and business management major. “And sad that people think that violence is the answer to everything.”
“It’s shocking,” said Ryan Tinsley, senior and sports management major. “[It’s] messed up. It seems like everything’s always bad.”
“It’s concerning but not for my personal safety,” said a student who asked to only be identified as Amy.
She said she’s worried about what a shooting like this stands for and what caused it.
“I take it very personally when it’s pinned on people with mental health issues when they can’t get the help they need. There’s no support system. It’s such a stigmatized issue that actually getting or asking for help is looked down upon,” Amy said.
Wolfe agreed that more resources should be available to people with mental health issues.
Channell believes that a combination of mental health resources and tighter gun control could prevent future shootings.
“I think a little bit of both,” Tinsley said, agreeing with Channell. “I do think it’s too easy for people to get guns. More gun control but obviously mental health is a big aspect…”
Channell stated that she doesn’t even feel safe on EMU’s campus.
“My boyfriend bought me pepper spray because he doesn’t feel safe with me going here,” Channell said.