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Friday, Jan 25, 2013 11:30 PM UTC

Texas college shooting prompted by ‘idiocy’

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Topics: From the Wires,

HOUSTON (AP) — A young man accused of opening fire at a college after someone “bumped into” him was arrested Friday about 250 miles away from the Houston campus, authorities said.

Trey Foster,22, was brought back to Houston after being arrested at around 1 a.m. in a home in the Dallas suburb of Plano, where he was apparently staying with acquaintances, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said. It’s unclear how Foster got there after Tuesday’s shooting that injured three men at Lone Star College, or whether his friends knew he was a fugitive, the sheriff said.

But, Garcia said, Foster “confirms that being bumped into is at the root of this incident.” The sheriff blamed the incident on “idiocy and stupidity, and I think today I’ll add pre-puberty behavior.”

Authorities say at least 10 shots were fired during the incident, causing a campus-wide lockdown and terrifying students, some of whom immediately thought of the Connecticut elementary school shootings that killed 20 children last month.

A gun that authorities believe Foster used during the shootings was recovered during his arrest, Garcia said.

According to court documents, an argument erupted after 25-year-old Jody Neal bumped into Foster on campus. About 30 minutes later, Foster and his friend, 22-year-old Carlton Berry, spotted Neal near the doorway to the Academic Building. Foster fired at Neal, who was wounded in the abdomen and leg, the documents said. Neal ran into the campus library and collapsed.

According to the affidavit, Neal told investigators that Foster shot him. Berry, who was shot in the leg, was arrested at the scene. Bobby Cliburn, a 55-year-old maintenance worker who was standing nearby, was also shot in the leg.

Foster fled, and a manhunt ensued. But the affidavit does not say who shot Berry and Cliburn, and Garcia said officers are trying to determine whether Foster was the only one who fired a gun.

Berry and Foster are both charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Berry is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. Court documents say Foster is being held on a $50,000 bond and will appear in court Monday.

Arriving at the sheriff’s office Friday morning, Foster acknowledged to reporters that he knew Berry but ignored other questions.

Witnesses reported seeing one person flee on foot after the shooting, the affidavit said.

Berry had a Lone Star College identification card, but officials are still determining whether he and Foster were enrolled at the school. Neal was pursuing his GED, and no charges are expected to be filed against him, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Plushnick-Masti can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RamitMastiAP

More By Michael Graczyk And Ramit Plushnick-masti.

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