Sociology professor shoots himself - and police say he did it to protest Trump

Sociology professor Mark Bird shot himself in a bizarre event on the second day of classes at the College of Southern Nevada, and police say he told them he did it to protest President Donald Trump.

Here's what happened

On Aug. 28, campus police found Bird bleeding outside a bathroom on campus with a self-inflicted shot to his arm. He had politely taped a $100 bill to the mirror for the janitor, ostensibly for the bloody mess he had caused.

They found a .22 caliber pistol in the bathroom.

Bird, 69, was an emeritus professor at the time and was not scheduled for any classes in the 2018 year.

Even more bizarre was the only indication given in the police report for his motivation — he told people that he shot himself in order to protest Trump.

The president of the college's faculty union criticized the school for its lack of transparency about the odd event.

“They never really told the students much about it except that it was resolved on the actual day of the shooting," Robert Manis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “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."

The professor 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.

Here's a video about the bizarre protest: