Centenary Shooting: What Went Down

The crime scene, near Mickle Hall, Centenary College of Louisiana campus Thursday. 35 year old man with a previous history of arrests since he was a teen, struggled with DPS and was shot. He died at hospital. 

Around 4:30pm Thursday afternoon, a 35 year old man went over to administration (Hamilton Hall). He went to the second floor to seek some help. The second floor is where campus administration, including the president and provost, all have offices. He was described as behaving 'erratically' and wandered around for about 45 minutes. DPS came and removed him from the premises. Moments later, the man had a gun and struggled with DPS. Moments later, he was shot. The man was rushed to the hospital where he later died of injuries. 

The man, 35, had threatened child protective services over a case in 2011. He also threatened others in the past, as well as illegal use of a firearm. I'm certain he is on meth. There were classes that were held around that time. There's even night classes there. I went there. 

The DPS officers are on administrative leave at this very moment; this seemed to be a justified shooting as they acted properly. 

This is an official statement via email: 

"Dear Centenary alumni, parents, and friends of the college, 

As a new day begins and our hearts and minds turn toward Thanksgiving, I wanted to reach out to you once again to let you know how precious each and every one of you are to me and to the entire Centenary family. 

I do not have much more to share than what I communicated last night. I have talked with a number of the staff who were directly involved with the incident. You should know that their calm courage was nothing short of heroic in my book. As you think about and pray for the entire community, I ask you to please remember these persons, in particular, whose professionalism, training and strength led them through a few brief moments that most of us cannot imagine. 

Please also remember the family and friends of the person who lost his life yesterday. They, too, are in need of our compassion. 

Take this holiday to care for yourself, to hug those you love, to affirm and comfort those who need your assurance, to mend broken relationships and to give thanks for your many blessings. My family and I will be giving thanks for each of you. 

Peace,

David Rowe

B. David Rowe, Ph.D. 

President

Centenary College"

Why did this 35 year old man of previous criminal history for about 18 years of his life want to seek help on the campus? And why the Centenary campus? There's more than meets the eye. Stay tuned.