BLOOMSBURG -- The images are disturbing and reports frightening to many watching the riots continue to spread across the Middle East.
Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bloomsburg University Peter Doerschler says a recent anti-muslim video was the spark, but this violence could have begun at any time.
"The video definitely was the trigger event, but at the same time there were radical elements on the ground, perhaps to mobilize if an event hit, and it just, this was the spark definitely for them," Doerschler said.
He believes this attack won't be taken lightly and the U.S. is smart to prepare for more violence to come.
"It`s likely that tensions are going to grow. We are seeing protests in Egypt, spilling over into other countries as well, so we have to be prepared for the tension to escalate," Doerschler said.
The violence overseas has also become the center of discussion in many of the political science classes at Bloomsburg University and students say it`s an issue they are watching closely.
"It`s something that`s kind of upsetting to see. It seemed like there were great strides forward, it seemed like there would be cooperation between middle eastern countries and states," senior political science major Ken McGuire said.
McGuire says they spent more than half of his political science class talking about the tension in Libya. Some of his classmates say they believe this small group of extremists has been fueled through social media.
"When one person says something and riots, it`s like a domino effect it seems in any country. It`s happened in the united states before, obviously it`s happening in the Middle East," senior political science major Matt Albertson said.
"It`s a terrible event, a terrible tragedy that`s happened and unfortunately this is the time and world that we live in. The Middle East is in an uproar, they`re going through massive amounts of changes, being pulled in different directions, " senior political science major Nick Foreman said.
Students at Bloomsburg say they hope the killing of the U.S. Ambassador and other U.S. citizens does not damage or set back building better relations with countries in the Middle East.