Even In Texas?

Gun-cleaning kit prompts evacuation at Baylor

"Officials at the Baylor College of Medicine ordered an evacuation of the campus today after a gun-cleaning kit and an empty box of shells were discovered in a classroom.

An assistant professor was about to teach a class about 1:30 p.m. when she spotted a paper bag on a side table containing the cleaning kit and the empty box.

"There was oil on it (the cleaning kit) so obviously it had been used," said Dr. Peter Traber, president of the medical school.

Campus security officers were notified about the discovery. Within the hour, the alert was announced over Baylor's public address system as automatic e-mail and voice mail messages were relayed to students and staffers, officials said.

"We sent them home and told them the campus would be closed until the (Wednesday) morning," Traber said.

Minutes after the public address warning was sounded, a man told security officers that the items belonged to him and were left over from a weekend sporting trip.

"We were able to question him and search the appropriate areas," Traber said.

At no time was there ever a gun on the campus, officials said.

Baylor College officials declined to identify the person who left the items in the classroom but said he is not facing any disciplinary measures."

"We've yet to add cleaning paraphernalia to the list of banned items, ' Dr. Traber continued, 'but in the light of recent events it would be prudent to disallow such cleaning kits on campus as students, faculty, and staff members might get the wrong idea about our zero-tolerance program with regards to guns. Our psych professors are in agreement that the very sight of a cleaning swab or even worse, the presence of an empty shell, could very well send the more sensitive students into shock whereby they could harm themselves while frantically fleeing from an unattended cartridge case that in and of itself does most assuredly bespeak violence and death.

"It is simply horrific to imagine pile upon pile of trampled young people, and as long as I am in charge I promise that this will not happen."