Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Two killed in shooting at Texas college party
GREENVILLE, Texas — A gunman opened fire at an off-campus college party in Texas, leaving two people dead and 12 others injured before he escaped in the ensuing chaos, authorities said Sunday.
Authorities believe the shooter may have been targeting just one person at the party of about 750 people outside Greenville, 15 miles southwest of a satellite campus of the Texas A&M University System, and that others may have been shot at random, Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks said. Authorities
were still looking for the suspect, Meeks said, and had not yet identified him.
The shooting took place around midnight Saturday at what Meeks described as a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce, though officials have said it was not a school-sanctioned event. Authorities believe there was one male shooter who entered the venue through the back door and began firing a handgun, Meeks said.
Meeks described “complete chaos” after the shots rang out, with hundreds of people fleeing, including
the gunman. Authorities initially had said 14 people were injured, but they later revised that figure.
“They were breaking the glass of the windows trying to get out the building,” Meeks said. “My deputies said there was four abreast trying to get out the front door.”
The 12 injured included six people who were trampled or hurt by glass in the melee, according to Sgt. Jeff Haines, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Six others were injured by gunfire. Four of them were in critical condition and one was in good condition Sunday afternoon, he said. He did not know the condition of the sixth person.
The two people killed were both males, Meeks said, but he did not know if they were A&M-Commerce students. University President and CEO Mark Rudin, in a statement on the school’s Facebook page, said four of its students were treated and released from area hospitals. The students were not identified.
Rudin said there is “a tremendous amount of misinformation” about the shooting and that counseling services are available to students at the university’s counseling center.
Authorities do not believe the gunman was wearing a mask or costume, said Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford. He added that the shooter was dressed in a blue hoodie.
Authorities have not found the gun that was used, Oxford said.
The investigation has been somewhat complicated by the Halloween costumes worn by revelers. Authorities initially reported that a rifle was used in the shooting, only to say later that the weapon was a handgun. Rifle rounds found on the floor turned out to be fake — potentially part of someone’s costume.
Meeks said investigators have theorized that the shooter may have been targeting a specific person, one of the two men who were killed. But the investigation, which is being assisted by the Texas Rangers and the FBI, is still in
its early stages and has been hampered by the reluctance of witnesses.
The sheriff urged people to come forward with information about the shooter.
“We need to get him off the street as soon as possible,” he said. “And we have very, very little to go on right now.”
The shooting came as Texas A&M University-Commerce, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas, celebrated homecoming weekend. According to its website, it is the second-largest university in the Texas A&M University System.
Word of the violence spread online, with many sharing on social media graphic video purported to show seriously wounded victims lying on the ground as crying and screaming could be heard in the background.
“I just briefly saw one that was a very graphic video,” Meeks said. “I don’t know that’s going to help anything at all.”
Meeks said the party was held at a facility called The Party Venue and that the
owner was cooperating with authorities. The venue sits along a highway in a rural area some 2.5 miles from the Greenville city limits. Meeks said he was not aware of any surveillance video in the area.
A patrol sergeant and deputy were at the venue when the shooting happened, having been called there for complaints about illegal parking, Meeks said. An off-duty Farmersville police officer was also there, working as security for the party.
Authorities were questioning someone who appeared to be intoxicated when they heard gunshots from the back of the building, Meeks said.
Meeks praised the patrol sergeant and deputy, saying the sergeant quickly determined that one gunshot victim had life-threatening injuries and transported that person to a hospital, while the deputy triaged others until paramedics arrived.