MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- One person pulled out a gun and shot another in the hand during an argument in a Middle Tennessee State University classroom building, then tried to hide by blending in among other students before being caught by police, authorities said Monday.
The campus of 24,660 about 30 miles southeast of Nashville was on alert for about 45 minutes.
Police say Justin Macklin, 20, got into an argument and then shot at a former student, 20-year-old Austin Morrow, on Monday, wounding Morrow in the thumb. Police said Macklin had not been charged as of Monday afternoon.
MTSU Police Chief Buddy Peaster said the two men had problems in the past but he did not say what prompted the shooting or elaborate on what they had argued about.
After the shooting, police say, Macklin tried to hide in a classroom building, but police surrounded the building and arrested him when he tried to leave. Peaster said the weapon, a .32-caliber revolver, and two bags of marijuana, were found later in the building.
The shooting disrupted activities for a time.
Jamie Smith, 20, a pre-dental major, said she was in history class with 50 others when they received a text alert from the school saying there had been a shooting in their building.
"Everybody just started running toward the windows to see what was happening," she said.
A campus alert was issued at 12:19 p.m. telling students and staffers to stay inside buildings. A subsequent e-mail from the university at 1 p.m. canceled the alert, saying that the suspect was in custody and that the weapon was confiscated. Another alert at 1:29 p.m. gave students and staff the all-clear to go about their business.
Hayden Harville, 19, said he went to a window at his dormitory after receiving the alert and saw SWAT teams and police outside.
The Business and Aerospace Building where authorities say the shooting occurred was closed until further notice.
Murfreesboro Police Maj. Clyde Adkison said Macklin was unarmed when he was captured.
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