A longtime College of Southern Nevada sociology professor is facing felony gun charges in connection with an on-campus shooting on the second day of classes. College of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas Review-Journal File) A longtime College of Southern Nevada sociology professor is facing felony gun charges in connection with an on-campus shooting on the second day of classes. Mark J. Bird, 69, was charged last month with discharging a gun within a prohibited structure, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and possessing a dangerous weapon on school property, court records show. He was found bleeding from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his arm about 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 28 outside a bathroom in the Charleston campus K building. Inside the bathroom, campus police found a $100 bill taped to a mirror along with a note that said, “For the janitor,” according to Bird’s arrest report. On the floor of the restroom was a black-and-white, .22-caliber pistol and one spent shell casing. The sociology professor was hired Aug. 26, 1993, and was an emeritus faculty member at the time of the shooting, college spokesman Richard Lake said. Bird was not scheduled to teach any courses during the fall 2018 semester. Bird was employed with the college as of Tuesday, although Lake said it was not clear what disciplinary actions, if any, would be taken against him. A 911 call was made after several CSN employees and at least one student saw Bird stumble out of the bathroom, bleeding, before he collapsed, the report said. None of the witnesses — who later told police they only recalled hearing “a loud noise” — initially knew Bird was armed and had shot himself, according to the report. One college employee told police that he held Bird’s hand to calm him down as others tried to stop the bleeding. While waiting for authorities to arrive, Bird said he had shot himself in protest of President Donald Trump, police noted in their report. The report did not elaborate. A campuswide alert was sent about 9 a.m. the day of the shooting, deeming the scene safe and alerting students that the firearm had been recovered. Except for a short mention in the lengthy September edition of “The Chronicle,” the college president’s monthly newsletter emailed to staff, the college did not disclose any more details about the shooting. The brief update was at the bottom of the newsletter and did not name Bird as the suspect. Federico Zaragoza, who in August was named the college’s ninth president, wrote at the end of his newsletter, “I appreciate all of the expressions of concern and interest, and I pledge to keep everyone updated should the situation change.” On Tuesday, Robert Manis, president of the college’s faculty union, the Nevada Faculty Alliance, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he has heard a number of rumors about the shooting in the last two weeks. He expressed concerns about the way the college handled the shooting and about its lack of transparency afterward. “They never really told the students much about it except that it was resolved on the actual day of the shooting,” he said. “When you don’t give the full details, then rumors go crazy. It’s unfortunate because it made the students and faculty very afraid and allowed rumors to proliferate.” Lake declined to comment further Tuesday, but he noted that college officials met with faculty and staff immediately after the shooting to provide support and to take suggestions. Bird’s preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 17 in Las Vegas Justice Court. Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.<doc-sep>Nevada professor shoots himself on campus to protest President Trump, police say While his reasoning wasn’t made clear, a sociology professor in Nevada shot himself in the arm while on campus to protest President Donald Trump, according to a police report.Mark J. Bird, 69, a professor at the College of Southern Nevada since 1993, is facing felony gun charges, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.College employees found Bird collapsed and bleeding from a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside a bathroom on campus around 8:15 a.m. Aug. 28.Campus police discovered a $100 bill taped to a mirror inside the bathroom with a note that said, “For the janitor,” police said. The pistol Bird reportedly used was found on the bathroom floor.He's been charged with discharging a gun in a structure within a prohibited area, among other charges, according to online court records.Bird was still employed with the college as of Tuesday, college spokesman Richard Lake told the Review-Journal, although he wasn’t scheduled to teach any classes during the current semester. While his reasoning wasn’t made clear, a sociology professor in Nevada shot himself in the arm while on campus to protest President Donald Trump, according to a police report. Mark J. Bird, 69, a professor at the College of Southern Nevada since 1993, is facing felony gun charges, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Advertisement College employees found Bird collapsed and bleeding from a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside a bathroom on campus around 8:15 a.m. Aug. 28. Campus police discovered a $100 bill taped to a mirror inside the bathroom with a note that said, “For the janitor,” police said. The pistol Bird reportedly used was found on the bathroom floor. He's been charged with discharging a gun in a structure within a prohibited area, among other charges, according to online court records. Bird was still employed with the college as of Tuesday, college spokesman Richard Lake told the Review-Journal, although he wasn’t scheduled to teach any classes during the current semester.<doc-sep>A college professor is facing felony charges after shooting himself on a Nevada campus last month in what police say he claimed was a protest of President Donald Trump, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Sociology professor Mark J. Bird, 69, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside a bathroom at the College of Southern Nevada, where he has taught since 1993. He was charged with discharging a gun within a prohibited structure, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and possessing a dangerous weapon on school property, according to the Review-Journal. A student saw a wounded Bird stumble out of the bathroom after 8 a.m. on Aug. 28, before collapsing, according to a police report obtained by the Review-Journal. As witnesses worked to calm Bird and stop the bleeding, he said he had shot himself in protest of Trump. Inside the bathroom, campus police found a $100 bill taped to a mirror with a note reading, "For the janitor," the report said. On the floor were a .22-caliber handgun and a spent shell casing.<doc-sep>
A professor accused of creating a campus-wide alert by shooting himself in a toilet on the second day of classes last month reportedly did so in order to protest President Trump. A report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal said that Mark Bird, a sociology professor at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), has been charged with discharging a gun within a prohibited structure, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and possessing a dangerous weapon on school property. The newspaper reported a number of odd details about the Aug. 28 shooting based on court documents and police reports in the case, which has a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 17. The college itself has revealed little about the incident beyond a short mention in the college president’s newsletter to staff, the Review-Journal reported. Citing Mr. Bird’s arrest report, the Review-Journal said “campus police found a $100 bill taped to a mirror along with a note that said, ‘For the janitor.’ … On the floor of the restroom was a black-and-white, .22-caliber pistol and one spent shell casing.” None of the several witnesses who saw Mr. Bird stumble out of the bathroom and then collapse at about 8:15 a.m. initially knew the professor had shot himself, hearing only a loud noise and prompting a 911 call, police said. “While waiting for authorities to arrive, Bird said he had shot himself in protest of President Donald Trump, police noted in their report. The report did not elaborate,” the Review-Journal reported. Robert Manis, president of the CSN’s faculty union, told the Review-Journal that the college handled the shooting without the needed transparency, adding that he has heard a number of rumors about it. “They never really told the students much about it except that it was resolved on the actual day of the shooting,” he said Tuesday. “When you don’t give the full details, then rumors go crazy. It’s unfortunate because it made the students and faculty very afraid and allowed rumors to proliferate.” College spokesman Richard Lake told the Review-Journal that Mr. Bird still was employed as a professor emeritus as of Tuesday. Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.