Gunman Seized After Holding 36 Hostage at College
A smirking gunman held up to 36 people hostage in a college lecture hall for nearly two hours Wednesday before he was jumped and disarmed by five students, one of whom was shot and wounded in the struggle.
Ralph Tortorici, a 26-year-old psychology major at the State University of New York at Albany, shouted: “Government experiments!” as he was hustled into a police car. He faces attempted murder and other charges, police said.
Tortorici had apparently smuggled a rifle in a bag into a classics class and took 35 students and a professor hostage, SUNY spokesman Joel Blumenthal said.
“The students were heroes,” Blumenthal said. He said Tortorici has a dispute with the school over his student status.
Jason McEnaney, a student from Hicksville, N.Y., who helped tackle the gunman, was shot in the abdomen and leg and was hospitalized in serious condition. Tortorici suffered cuts and abrasions and was listed in fair condition.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
