Campus Shootings: Thirty years ago, as a UNC student, he wrote a story about a fatal shooting for the school newspaper. Last month, another shooting occurred at the same school. During lockdown, Ryan Thornburg ensured his kids’ safety.
In some ways, college campus killings are back where they started. Others who attended UNC-Chapel Hill and recall the 1995 tragedy now enroll their children there. On Aug 28, a shooting killed a professor, and on Wed, the school was briefly locked down again. Due to changes in information flow, recent experiences are like double exposures, with added technology and feelings on the same scene.
In 1988, university officials couldn’t inform the entire town about a shooting that resulted in two deaths and two injuries near campus. There was email, but few used it. Long-distance calls were pricier; if there was no answer, leave a note on the answering machine.
Thornburg, a former student writer, only called his parents in California about the murder in 1995 after spotting a TV news van nearby. In a recent interview, he mentioned thinking about calling his parents.
Thornburg was a junior when, on Jan 26, 1995, law student Wendell Williamson fired a gun while walking down the street. Williamson continued shooting despite being shot by the police. Two witnesses stopped him, and he was found not guilty and sent to a mental hospital for being crazy.
Thornburg was the city editor for The Daily Tar Heel. When the shooting began, he was heading to the police station for another story. He used a pay phone to send news to the office and worked on the next day’s paper all night.
They killed someone on campus a few days later.
Thornburg was teaching “Introduction to Newswriting” when an active shooter warning appeared on his computer and a screen behind him. As sirens sounded and people were instructed to seek shelter, text messages were sent to children, teachers, and employees.
Thornburg pushed kids in and locked doors. He told them to hide under desks. They listened to a scanner and watched local news together. There were rumors.
“I told them, ‘I know you’re all on social media. What sound does it make? Thornburg suggested discussing to determine trustworthiness. It allowed me to demonstrate something to them.
Paul Dean, head of the International Association of School Law Enforcement Administrators, noted improved school warning systems and increased dissemination of false information. Finding the right balance of comfort and fear can be challenging amidst the noise. He said kids who attended school during murders are more anxious at school.
Dean of UNH cops said, “I know alerts can upset people.” It takes work to get everything perfect.
In 1995, there were no signs to prevent students from entering the line of fire. However, some were unaware of the killing until later, thus avoiding fear during the lockdown.
Zoe Bright has been at UNC for three years. The first sign came a month ago when she spoke to her dad on the phone. After assuring him she was safe, she checked on her friends. They all did the same thing. When her building was evacuated, a friend hid in a bar bathroom before leaving Bright’s dorm room.
Bright said, “Almost everyone I’ve ever met was texting me.” Everyone at school and in group chats went crazy for three hours.
She told her dad, Mark, she could hear planes above. 1995, as a UNC senior, he said the same thing to his parents. Their lives after were quite different.
Mark Bright recalls leaving school that day and witnessing commotion downtown, including the sound of gunshots. He and other students stood in a doorway for a while. He returned to his room when he suspected a stolen beer truck. His wife, Presley Bright, went to school with him in ’95, but she doesn’t recall how she heard about the death. But they both remember that it was in the school newspaper the next day.
ALSO READ: UNC Chapel Hill Shooting: Faculty Member Killed, Suspect Apprehended in Two Hour Lockdown
Thornburg wrote the front-page article. There were four additional murder stories, a crime scene map, and a picture of a covered body. The current Daily Tar Heel team filled the front page with student lockdown texts. Thornburg thinks the newspaper crew did a better job this year.
“Everytown for Gun Safety” reports 86 deaths in K-12 and college campuses this year. Due to the killings, 27 fatalities and 57 injuries have occurred. Dan Flannery from Case Western University’s Begun Center for Violence Prevention and Research says such incidents have increased in the past decade.
It’s awful how things are now. Flannery said people accept this as usual in our society.
Some UNC grads weren’t surprised by the recent shooting, not due to past experiences, but because they understand American society.
“Today’s the day,” I thought after processing the shock and confirming our decision. It happens,” Thornburg said, calling the lockdown “weird and unsurprising.
Mark Bright’s daughter was worried about her college choice. He pondered that if she had chosen differently, things would be different.
Then, he soon realized the truth about the US in 2023.
He said, “It doesn’t matter what college you attend.” It’s less important now. It could be any place.