Shooting In Phoenix College Over Long Feud

(CBS/AP)  A long-standing dispute between two men turned violent when a former student shot three people in a computer lab at a community college, injuring one of them critically, authorities said. The suspected gunman was arrested nearby.

The shooting Thursday afternoon at South Mountain Community College was part of an ongoing feud between the suspect and one of the victims, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.

"This was not a random shooter going around the campus shooting," Hill said, noting that two of the injured people were struck by stray bullets.

Officers said they believe the shooting was gang-related, reports CBS affiliate KPHO-TV. Police said the gunman had targeted one of the vidtims, and the other two got caught in the crossfire.

The suspect was identified as Rodney Smith, who police said was a former student at the college. Smith, 22, was still being interviewed by police late Thursday, and it was not known if he had a lawyer yet.

He was arrested at a home a few miles away within a half-hour of the first emergency call to authorities about the shooting, police spokesman Reuben Gonzales said.

Also arrested at the home were Smith's parents and three other people on charges of interfering with an investigation and failure to obey a police officer after they crossed police tape and demanded to go back inside, Gonzales said.

Yessenia Lara, an 18-year-old student who witnessed the shooting, said the gunman was one of two men who had been fighting in the computer building.

"I saw someone get punched and then I heard three shots after that. Everybody basically ducked, and the shooter got away," Lara said, adding that the victims were yelling in pain.

A 19-year-old man was in critical condition at Maricopa Medical Center, while a 20-year-old woman was upgraded from critical to stable condition Thursday night and a 17-year-old boy remained in stable condition, hospital officials said.

The woman was shot in the hip, while the man and boy suffered leg wounds, officials said. Their identities were not released.

Details on when the suspect attended the school were not immediately available.

College spokesman Robert Pryce said the school was in lockdown for about an hour. About 20 to 30 people were in the computer lab during the shooting and as many as 300 people were on campus, he said. The lab is open to the public.

An electronic sign outside the school said all classes were canceled Thursday, and students could be seen leaving the campus calmly about 90 minutes after the shooting. Pryce said the campus would be closed Friday, which is typical during the summer.

"The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and all appropriate measures are being taken to ensure the safety of our campus," college President Ken Atwater said in a statement. The statement did not elaborate.

Situated at the base of Phoenix's South Mountain, the college has more than 8,000 students.

[dowjones20k]

What happened to the good ole days when someone would either fight with their bare hands and/or talk it out and get it resolved. At least that way it was a fair fight and innocent people didn''''t get hurt.

I just really don''''t understand the human race anymore.

Posted by Tweety_223


Well one can point a finger at our do gooder schools administrations who will expel any children who have a physical altercation .. interesting thoughts are this not only keeps the anger built up .. the children become enraged and feel that a gun or some other form of dangerous violence is the only way to solve playground issues ...

So as long as we have these holier than thou humans runnig our schools who can not fathom children becoming physical at some point .. then we have the consequences ..

Look how they want to do away with vali-victorians and no first place in sports ...

These are cookie cutter kooks who think everyone must be treated the same .. and look where our society is headed !!!

Into the c r a pp er .... We are doomed as long as we have these goofs influencing our society ..

And yes .. certainly the domestic terrorist charge would be a good thing for these gang bangers ... put them all in the desert and let them kill each other ... then we would certainly witness urban renewal ...

[keithle1]

Gangs & young black male thugs. Get rid of them & your violent crime goes way, way down. Guaranteed.
Maybe we can put them in a huge spaceship & they can colonize the moon.

[patriot12436]

lostcountry1
I agree, make the punishment fit the crime, declare gangs aas terroristys and treat them as such. I don''t want to hear their parents saying what a good boy he is when he is being arrested. Lets end the violence and take back our country from he criminals.

[lostcountry1]

this is the perfect time to use the patriot act against terrorists. all gang bangers should be labeled "domestic terrorists" and be arrested at will under the rules or the patriot act. tyey should not be allowed to use lawers to get them off. they should be treated just like terrorists in iraq or anywhere else in the world.our cities are under attack, by the scum of society. they know that the bleeding hearts will give them a break. if they were taken away for an infinite amount of time,our streets would get safer day by day. why should we care how they are treated? do they ask you before they beat you, or shoot you ,or some bystander?real punishment for real terrorists.

[stupidrules3]

It is now time for the anti gun crowd to come out and yell about taking our guns from us. How about if they start with the gangs (who don''t acquire their guns legally)? Not one of them has a practical solution to the problem of getting all the guns off the street but they sure do want the government to do the job for them. Maybe they will just click the heels of their ruby slippers together three times and say, "I wish guns were gone, I wish guns were gone, I wish guns were gone."

[santeelite]

Your "gun free zone" in action, again. Likely, would have made little difference in this situation, but others where a shooter goes about methodically shooting their victims are a different matter.

A "gun free zone" is actually a "criminal enterprise or empowerment zone." They know that their victims are unarmed and unlikely to be able to resist their demented attack. Ever notice where these "psychos" do their work? They may be crazy, but they are smart enough to go where they know they will have the least resistance.

[xmanborg]

Grow the Frack UP and be adults.

[tweety_223]

Why can''t we all get along...why does every dispute lately have to be solved with violence? What happened to the good ole days when someone would either fight with their bare hands and/or talk it out and get it resolved. At least that way it was a fair fight and innocent people didn''t get hurt.

I just really don''t understand the human race anymore.