A man was charged late on Tuesday afternoon in a shooting at a community college in Houston, Texas that have left four people hospitalized and touched off fears that the campus had been the
site of another mass shooting.
The man is Carlton Berry, 22, and he was charged with
aggravated assault but remained hospitalized for injuries sustained in the
shooting.
A dispute between Mr. Berry and another man on Tuesday
led to the shooting at Lone Star College’s North Harris campus, the authorities
said. At least one of the men may have been a student or a former student at the
college. Both were detained by the authorities.
Three people were wounded by gunfire, including the
two men in the altercation and a maintenance worker who was shot in the leg. A
fourth person, who was not shot, was taken to a hospital with medical problems.
School officials said the campus would reopen on
Wednesday morning on a normal schedule.
The college, which has 19,000 students, was evacuated,
and Houston police officers and Harris County sheriff’s deputies spent hours
clearing the buildings and deeming them safe.
Officials with the Sheriff’s Office said they received
the first call at 12:19 p.m. They said they did not know what the dispute was
about. One of the men in the altercation had student identification, but
officials had not confirmed that he was enrolled at the college.
An official with the Sheriff’s Office, Maj. Armando
Tello, said there appeared to be only one gun involved. Major Tello was the
acting sheriff because Sheriff Adrian Garcia was out of town.
The shooting shocked students, faculty members and
administrators at the 200-acre campus. The school is in northern Harris County
and about 30 minutes from downtown. It is so close to George Bush
Intercontinental Airport that college officials said one can often look up and
wave at the passengers.
Students said they did not realize that the shots were
actually gunfire. Because the shooting occurred outdoors — in a center courtyard
near the library and academic buildings, officials said — many heard the sounds.
One student sitting at a table on the third floor of the library thought it was
a book cart toppling.
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