The Off-Campus Campus Shooting

The shooting referred to in my previous post has caused a bit of a media circus in our area, not surprisingly. But I was a little surprised to hear from people in other states who had just heard the news. Then I realized why this news was spreading across the country. The news media is callling it a "campus shooting" and "the [name of university] shooting." Without a doubt, this evokes memories of Virginia Tech or any other campus tragedy where gunmen have chased down victims and terrorized schools. And considering the similar tragedy that occurred recently at a movie theater, such events are big news right now.

Clearly, the news media is taking full advantage of that. By calling it a campus shooting, who wouldn't see that and immediately go to the story to find out the details of this most recent massacre? Fortunately, and unsuprisingly, the media headline is not QUITE accurate.

This "campus shooting" did not actually occur on campus. It occurred NEAR campus. The shooter was not a disgruntled student or employee of the univeristy. In fact, he was not affiliated with the university in any way. And he did not charge into the area with semiautomatic weapons, intending to take down multiple victims. He was at his house when the police arrived. But they were not responding to any emergency calls when they initiated contact. They were there to serve an eviction notice. And the man reacted in an extreme manner. Of course it is a tragedy. But it is not the tragedy the news media seems to wish it were.

The news media's treatment of this sad event seems to strengthen the points made recently by Eric D. Snider in the satirical commentary he wrote regarding the Aurora shooting. In sad times like this, it would be nice if it weren't so easy to picture news editors and journalists high-fiving each other over their latest "scoop."