A mock mass shooting planned by two Texas gun advocacy groups for this weekend will not be welcome at the University of Texas (UT). A university representative has told reporters the event would be seen as a "criminal trespass matter," according to the Associated Press.
"When outside individuals come on campus and violate our rules regarding use of our grounds and facilities, they are asked to leave," the spokesperson said.
"Only the university itself, faculty, staff and student groups may engage in such activities on campus. This applies equally to an outside protest group, an outside theater troupe, or any outside group wishing to use the facilities or grounds of the university," UT spokesman J.B. Bird told the Austin Statesman.
Those behind the event, Come And Take It Texas and DontComply.com, have said it was being held to prove that the right to carry arms meant gun owners could save lives in mass shooting scenarios. Spokesman Matthew Short has described the event as a "theatrical skit" that will see actors shot with cardboard weapons, according to Business Insider. "People were able to be murdered by people because no one was armed," Short said.
"Criminals that want to do evil things and commit murder go places where people are not going to be able to stop them," he told the Austin Statesman. "When seconds count, the cops are minutes away."
However, Joan Neuberger, a history professor at UT said the event was disrespectful to students and faculty at the school. "Staging a mass shooting during an anxious time for students - finals week - not only breaks rules but shows real disrespect for the feelings of students, faculty and staff who don't want to have guns around them in the first place, but will be forced to put up with guns in public places in 2016," Neuberger said.
Neuberger was referring to new legislation that will allow concealed handguns on Texas campuses as of next August.
The staged shooting event has been moved across from the campus to Guadalupe Street, the Austin Statesman reports. It will begin with a march of about eight blocks then the mock shooting event will follow, according to USA Today.
