Our Sunday article about how police found firearms at the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity brought swift public reaction: One caller asked how dare we “attack” that fraternity by reporting that police found hunting rifles, handguns, semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles in the house?

We dare, with no apology. It’s relevant to disclose the disquieting ironies and confused values of a house where Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity member Joshua Grimes, 19, of Glide, has been charged with second-degree assault and the unlawful use of firearm. Police say Grimes shot transient Dennis Sanderson, 41, in the thigh with a hunting rifle from a fraternity house window Oct. 14. Sanderson was scrounging for cans in an adjacent alley.

Alpha Gamma Rho’s national chapter has officially said it does not condone such behavior, and Grimes is not a member anymore. The president of the fraternity cooperated with police from the start, as did others.

However, police recovered Grimes’ rifle from the vehicle of another fraternity member. Police said that other members of the fraternity also had drawn a bead on transients in the alley, shooting them with BB guns.

It’s understandable that friends stick together in times of stress, and Grimes reportedly told police that he was under great stress and traumatized after discovering the body of a friend who had committed suicide shortly before Sanderson’s shooting.

As sympathetic as we are to traumas, we cannot see how that in any way justifies taking aim at a homeless man in an alley. Indeed, it’s not an incident exclusive to fraternities or young people. Cruelty to the homeless is all too common.

Sanderson said he’s been shot at before, elsewhere. On that occasion, someone shot at him with a pellet gun. He escaped injury because his heavy clothing absorbed the pellet.

We have nothing against responsible gun ownership, but the first rule of having a firearm is “Never point a weapon at someone unless you’re planning to shoot.”

Oregon State University, where Grimes was enrolled in study of agricultural business management, has no power to regulate policy related to the presence of firearms in off-campus buildings. Prhaps leery of liability issues, Alpha Gamma Rho’s national chapter spokesman had no official comment regarding the amount of firearms found at one of their houses.

It is ironic what a big difference a little bit of time and distance makes regarding our attitude about young people, schools and firearms.

In many of Oregon’s public schools, the absolute “zero tolerance” policy related to firearms has come down harshly against some students, even disallowing the use of toy firearms in school plays. The tough rules were a reaction to a series of school shootings that have forever shattered our certainty that our children are safe at school.

This shooting occurred four blocks from OSU rather than on campus and Grimes was 19, rather than 15 or 16.

But we still we define “recipe for future trouble” as “a fraternity house full of young men and firearms.” We dare to suggest change is needed.