Student kills 2, self at Louisiana college

Entered class with loaded gun

Elizabeth Reilman (left) hugged Louisiana Technical College staff member Buffy Brinkley yesterday after the shootings. (Tim Mueller/Associated Press)

BATON ROUGE, La. - A 23-year-old woman killed two fellow students with a .357 revolver in a classroom at a vocational college yesterday, then committed suicide, police said.

The women apparently were shot in their seats in the second-floor classroom at Louisiana Technical College, Baton Rouge police Sergeant Don Kelly said. About 20 people were in the emergency medical technology class at the time, he said.

Police identified the victims as Karsheika Graves, 21, and Taneshia Butler, 26.

"Why those two women were targeted . . . is still an unanswered question," Kelly said.

The shooter was identified as Latina Williams, whose address was unknown, Kelly said. Williams entered the room and spoke briefly with the instructor, then left, he said.

She returned through another door and fired six rounds, Kelly said, then reloaded and shot herself in the head.

Officers ran into the building within four minutes of the first 911 call, which came at 8:36 a.m., Kelly said. "There was mass pandemonium, people running," he said.

The school - one of two LTC campuses in Baton Rouge and dozens around the state - offers classes in subjects including early childhood education, practical nursing, drafting, and welding.

Louis Davis, who was taking an automobile technology class yesterday morning, said a teacher told the students to stay in class because there had been an incident, without adding details. Students had to stay in their classrooms for about two hours and were briefly questioned by police before being released, he said.