I don’t wish to exaggerate the illustrative implications of a single incident, but the following story from the Washington Post does suggests many of the most obvious reasons why permitting guns on our campuses is a dangerous idea:

“Washington College closed its Maryland campus Tuesday morning until further notice as police and the FBI intensified the search for a “despondent” sophomore who is believed to be armed.

“It was the second day the Eastern Shore campus has been on high alert, going from a shelter-in-place order Monday to a full evacuation on Tuesday. Authorities are trying to find Jacob Marberger, whose parents called college officials early Monday to report that he had left their home in Pennsylvania with a gun and that they were not able to reach him.

“Marberger was a leader in student government on campus, the speaker of the senate, and a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. But things began to unravel for the 19-year-old this fall, according to college and law-enforcement officials. In October, he got in trouble for allegedly brandishing a handgun while drunk at his fraternity house.

“Marberger was suspended from school for a week and a half after an investigation by campus police and returned to his home in the Philadelphia area. He was kicked out of his fraternity because of the incident, resigned his office with the student government association and faced a possible expulsion, according to school officials.

“Concerns this week began with postings on social media overnight Sunday into Monday, police confirmed, and escalated when Marberger’s family called the school. They said he had taken a rifle case from their home. . . .”

The full story, by T. Rees Shapiro and Susan Svriuga is available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/11/17/washington-college-locks-down-again-tuesday-morning-as-search-for-armed-student-continues/.