STLToday is reporting on the shooting: 

A long-time employee of Stevens Institute of Business & Arts was shot by an on-again, off-again student, who then shot himself Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Both men were in surgery at 3 p.m. and St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said he was "hopeful" both men would survive after the shooting, about 2 p.m.

Authorities said the victim, in his late 40s, was shot in the chest with a handgun by a student, 21, in a fourth-floor office, police said. The suspected shooter then went to a stairwell between the third and fourth floors and shot himself. Dotson said a gun was found with the man.

The suspected shooter was a spart-time student for the last four years, Dotson said.

The event comes as Obama prepares to give a major gun control speech. Obama will act unilaterally on the gun control issue via executive order. Such action would bypass Congress and the presumed legislative gridlock.

During the speech, Obama will be joined by several leading mayors (we're guessing New York City Mike Bloomberg will be front-and-center, as he is staunchly anti-gun) in his announcement and is expected to implement most, if not all, of the 19 executive orders which range from expanding background check requirements to dedicating resources to the enforcement of mental health checks and inter-state communication.

The will undoubetedly spark a major partisan debate: conservatives and pro-gun advocates are calling out the president for failing to use the legislative process and would be inflamed over the issue. 

The conservative Drudge Report compared executive action to dictators Hitler and Stalin. 

The backlash could be immense and could cost Obama leverage in future political battles, most notably the coming debt ceiling fight next month.

Obama has often pulled the "popular mandate" card, saying that his re-election in November proves Americans are behind him ... almost hinting at persumed unconditional support among voters. 

But what do the American people really think about the gun debate? Well, for starters, just 4% of Americans identify guns as the nation's top problem, as Gallup reports.

The polling data on more specific policy issues is completely divided, with no clear consensus on what to do.

Still, the issue has come to a head. Since 2005, when the assault weapons ban expired, there have been 32 mass public shootings, including seven in 2012 (adding up to 20% of all mass public shootings over the last two decades). Whether voters identify guns as a problem or not, politicians are looking to address the issue immediately. 

A day before Obama is set to unveil his gun violence measures, there has been another school shooting.

The event will likely play into Obama's gun control speech, set for Wednesday. In that speech, Obama will likely seek an assault weapons ban and will look to strengthen background checks for gun buyers. 

Will this event impact the on-going gun debate?

STLToday is reporting on the shooting: 

A shooting has been reported at the Stevens Institute of Business and Arts at 1521 Washington Avenue.

At least one person was injured by the gunman, according to police scanner traffic. The suspected gunman, believed to be a 21-year-old man, was reported to have shot himself.

Two men were brought from the building on stretchers and loaded into ambulances. One left immediately while the other was idling in front of the building.

Nearly two dozen squad cars are out around the building. Helicopters are flying overhead.

SWAT teams were moving through the building ensuring each floor was clear.

Authorities have closed off Washington Avenue between 15th and 18th streets and St. Charles Avenue at 14th Street.

While we wait for Biden's recommendations to become public today, sources close to the White House have shared that the president will unveil his intent to act on Biden's 19 recommended executive orders in an event on Wednesday.

Obama will be joined by several leading mayors (we're guessing Bloomberg will be front and center) in his announcement and is expected to implement most, if not all, of the 19 executive orders which range from expanding background check requirements to dedicating resources to the enforcement of mental health checks and inter-state communication.

Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman threatened on Monday that he would file articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama if he institutes gun control measures with an executive order.

Stockman warned that such executive orders would be “unconstitutional” and “infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms.”

“Any proposal to abuse executive power and infringe upon gun rights must be repelled with the stiffest legislative force possible,” Stockman continued. “Under no circumstances whatsoever may the government take any action that disarms any peaceable person — much less without due process through an executive declaration without a vote of Congress or a ruling of a court.”

While some extreme pro-gun advocates consider any gun control measures as complete opposition to the Second Amendment, gun control efforts have historically been allowed by courts, and the Second Amendment has never been tightly read to mean that gun control is unconstitutional.

Impeachment, then, is extreme.

And, besides, executive orders are made everyday ... what would make a gun control executive order any different?

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which may include the removal of that official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment.

Article 1 of the Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power of impeachment and the Senate the sole power to try impeachments. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote.

Impeachment does not necessarily result in removal from office; it is only a legal statement of charges. Although the subject of the charge is criminal action, it does not constitute a criminal trial; the only question under consideration is the removal of the individual from office, and the possibility of a subsequent vote preventing the removed official from ever again holding political office in the jurisdiction where he was removed.

Any impeachment against Obama for gun control would end up looking like a massive circus, proving Congress are just a bunch of clowns. 

Could Obama be wasting valuable political capital by issuing an executive order on gun control? 

Like I said three weeks ago, a push for a new assault weapons ban would be political suicide for Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a well-known supporter of gun rights, has acknowledged that he agrees.

Speaking to Nevada press, Reid indicated that a new federal gun law probably wouldn't pass this Congress. "Let’s be realistic. In the Senate, we’re going to do what we think can get through the House," said Reid, "and I’m not going to be going through a bunch of these gyrations just to say we’ve done something."

Reid's hesitance to pursue sweeping federal gun control suggests that congressional Democrats are uneasy about spending political capital on gun control regulations that wouldn't pass a GOP House. 

It remains to be seen whether congressional gun control advocates will pursue smaller measures such as magazine size restrictions but the political risk of a sweeping new law similar to the one that cost the Democrats control of Congress in the 90's appears to be too great to pursue.

This makes Vice President Biden's proposed 19 executive actions even more important as they may be the oinly realistic gun control measures to see implementation in the forseeable future.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, the gun control debate has reached fever pitch. In the weeks since, President Obama has designated VP Joe Biden as the point man for a White House gun control panel.

Biden on Thursday was set to meet with a number of related groups in the gun control debate, including policy leaders, entertainment industry members, and lobbyists.  

Biden, in remarks on Wednesday, hinted that the president could act unilaterally on this issue with some sort of executive order.  

"As the president said, if your actions result in only saving one life, they're worth taking. But I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly," Biden said.

According to the Washington Post, the administration is contemplating a set of proposals that would seek to tackle the gun issue in a more comprehensive manner. The proposals are as follows: require universal background checks for gun buyers; create a national database that would include information about gun sales; make it more difficult for those who suffer from a mental illness to acquire a gun by toughening the mental health background checks; and impose stiff penalties on those who provide guns to minors or possessing firearms close to a school.

The exact sort of executive action Obama would take is unclear. Still, the act of going it alone does bring up questions about whether the president would craft a policy that is in line with the national attitude ... and is viewing Congress as an ineffectual outlet to make rapid decisions.

Biden has made clear that the administration will do something.

Sandy Hook capped a wild year filled with high-profile mass shootings. In 2012 alone, over 140 people have been killed or injured by mass shooters in the United States.

One issue being presented in Congress is a second-coming of the Dianne Feinstein assault weapons ban. In September 1994, Congress passed the original Feinstein law that banned many types of assault of weapons. The bill barred the production of 18 varieties of semiautomatic weapons, and it also prevented the production of “high-capacity magazine that could carry more than 10 rounds.” In 2004, the Republican-controlled Congress decided not to renew the assault ban weapon.

The new bill that Feinstein, who was also behind the original measure, plans to introduce in the new Congress will be similar to the 1994 bill. Feinstein’s bill will prohibit the “sale, transfer, the importation and the possession, not retroactively, but prospectively,” of assault weapons that hold more than 10 bullets. President Obama indicated that he will support the proposed legislation.

The biggest pro-gun lobby, the NRA, has ripped the bill and many conservatives are calling such action an affront to their constitutionally-protected rights. Their efforts are seeing growing enthusiasm. The NRA has told Politico that it has gained over 100,000 new paid members in the past 18 days (Newtown shooting was Dec. 14), from 4.1 million to 4.2 million: "Our goal is to get to 5 million before this debate is over." Membership is $25, and comes with a choice of three gifts: Rosewood Handle Knife, Black & Gold Duffel Bag or Digital Camo Duffel Bag. 

Recent Gallup polls show that a majority of Americans (51%) still oppose an AWB, while 44% are for it. However, 92% of Americans support requiring background checks for buyers at gun shows.