Details are still emerging, but at least one person has been confirmed dead in the wake of another campus shooting, this time in Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Yahoo News reports that the college campus is on lock down while authorities are searching for the suspect. A posting on the campus’ website warns students that the lock down “is not a drill,” and that “The entire campus is on lock down.”
Daniel Wiggins, assistant operations manager for Wayne County, states that the shooter is still at large. He describes the suspect as “a bald white male, 5-foot-11, with a tattoo over his left eye and a goatee. He is thought to be wearing a blue jacket and light-colored pants.”
CNN reports that only one victim was involved in the tragedy, who was apparently shot and killed in the library. Multiple law enforcement agencies are on hand while the search continues for the shooting suspect.
The campus shooting not only affected the college, but local schools near the campus were also touched by the violence. Fox News reports that Tommy’s Road Elementary School was placed on lock down this morning, while Wayne Early Middle College students were told to not go to class today. Early Middle College is located on Wayne Community’s campus.
Wayne County Day school, a private school with around 300 students near the campus, was also placed on lock down.
While campus shootings are on the rise, Wayne Community College isn’t exactly high on the list of violent campuses. A small school, with a student population of less than 4,000 students, most of which attend part time, Wayne Community College has had very little criminal activity. Per the National Center For Educational Statistics, the school reported no violent crimes between the 2011 and 2013 school years, with only a few instances of drug and illegal weapons possessions.
Wayne Community College is now among dozens of campuses that have experienced shootings. Everytown For Gun Safety reports that since December 2012, or since the attack at Sandy Hook, there have been over 114 campus shootings , which average about one shooting every five weeks.
