A Normandale College student assaulted two faculty members Wednesday, fled and was soon arrested with a gun in his possession, Bloomington police said.
The 21-year-old St. Paul man struck a female instructor at the two-year school several times "following an earlier classroom dispute" with another student about 11 a.m., a statement from police read.
A male faculty member intervened and also was assaulted, police added.
The woman, about 50 years old, was taken to nearby Fairview Southdale Hospital with noncritical "upper-body injuries, mainly to her face," Deputy Police Chief Mike Hartley said. The man was not hospitalized.
Soon after the two students clashed in the classroom, the female instructor "was talking to the suspect about what had transpired, and that's when the assault occurred," Hartley said. "I don't know what set the fellow off."
The student was apprehended by police in a campus parking ramp. He had a handgun in his backpack, police said, adding that he did not have a permit to carry a firearm in public. Also, college policy forbids students or school employees from carrying weapons on campus property.
He is being held on suspicion of third- and fifth-degree assault and illegal possession of a gun. He has yet to be charged. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
