TUCSON — A student who was failing out of the nursing program at UA shot and killed three professors and himself at the Tucson campus Monday morning.
Robert Stewart Flores Jr., a 41-year-old Gulf War veteran, stormed into the UA College of Nursing building at approximately 8:30 a.m., shooting and killing one professor, according to Tucson police.
Flores then proceeded to a Nursing 475 class while a midterm exam was being conducted. There he shot and killed the two professors teaching the class before turning the gun on himself.
The three victims, who police said were specifically targeted by Flores, have been identified as Cheryl McGaffic, 44; Barbara Monroe, 45; and Robin Rogers, 50.
Flores reportedly told the professors to "make your peace with God," before shooting them, according to student Mabel Alvarez-Thornhill as quoted in the Tucson Citizen.
Police Chief Richard Miranda said the suspect had threatened to blow up a building in Tucson earlier, but it was unclear when that threat was made.
Nursing senior Julie Raymond said she was taking the exam when the gunman came in.
"We just thought he was late for the test," Raymond said. "Then he started talking to instructors and fired shots. All of us ducked under the tables and then ran out of the room. At first, I thought it was a joke and realized it wasn't when I heard the shot."
UA psychology senior Lyndsay Edwards, who was outside the College of Nursing waiting for the shuttle bus at the time of the shootings, said the chaos that followed the shootings "felt unreal."
"The first girl came running out [of the building]," Edwards said. "She was yelling that two professors were shot, and she asked to use my cell phone to call the police."
function new_window(url,scrollbars,width,height,top,left)
{
link = window.open(url,"Link","toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,status=0,menubar=0,scrollbars="+ scrollbars +",resizable=0,width="+ width +",height="+ height +",left="+ left +",top="+ top +"");
}
Edwards added that afterward, tons of students came out of the building "running and crying."
"Police cars drove up calling for people to clear the area and run," Edwards said.
The bomb squad was later called to the scene after police discovered a package next to the gunman's body.
After a bomb-sniffing dog reacted to the suspect's car, the College of Nursing building, as well as others nearby, was evacuated.
Police exploded a concussion devise to detonate any bombs that may have been planted in Flores' car.
The murders took place on a day already tense on the UA campus, as a riot broke out over basketball tickets at the ticket office earlier that morning.
Though remaining College of Nursing classes were canceled for the day, other classes at UA were carried on as usual.
Reach the reporter at matthew.garcia3@asu.edu. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
| Related Stories |
