Appalachian School of Law shooting

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The Appalachian School of Law shooting occurred on January 16, 2002, at the Appalachian School of Law, an American Bar Association accredited private law school in Grundy, Virginia, United States. Three people were killed and three others were wounded when a disgruntled former student opened fire in the school with a handgun.

The shooting

On January 16, 2002, 43-year-old Peter Odighizuwa, a Nigerian former student at the Appalachian School of Law, arrived on the campus. While numerous reports stated that Odighizuwa had flunked out of school or had been suspended, Jeremy Davis, former dean and professor of law at the school, later said that Odighizuwa had withdrawn voluntarily due to poor academic performance. Odighizuwa even stated in a later interview that he "had a C average."

Odighizuwa first discussed his academic problems with professor Dale Rubin, where he reportedly told Rubin to pray for him. Odighizuwa returned to the school around 1:00 and proceeded to the offices of Dean Anthony Sutin and Professor Thomas Blackwell, where he opened fire with a .380 ACP semi-automatic handgun. According to a county coroner, powder burns indicated that both victims were shot at point blank range. Also killed along with the two faculty members was a student, Angela Denise Dales, age 33. Three other people were wounded.

Students subdued the shooter

When Peter Odighizuwa exited the building where the shooting took place, he was approached by two students with personal firearms and one unarmed student. There are two versions of the events that transpired at that moment, one by Tracy Bridges and one by Ted Besen.

According to Bridges, at the first sound of gunfire, he and fellow student Mikael Gross, unbeknownst to each other, ran to their vehicles to fetch their personal owned firearms. Gross, a police officer with the Grifton Police Department in his home state of North Carolina, retrieved a 9 mm pistol and body armor. Bridges, a county sheriff's deputy from Asheville, N.C., pulled his .357 Magnum pistol from beneath the driver's seat of his Chevrolet Tahoe. As Bridges later told the Richmond Times Dispatch, he was prepared to shoot to kill. Bridges and Gross approached Odighizuwa from different angles, with Bridges yelling at Odighizuwa to drop his gun. Odighizuwa then dropped his firearm and was subdued by several other unarmed students, including Ted Besen and Todd Ross.

According to Besen, before Odighizuwa saw Bridges and Gross with their weapons, Odighizuwa set down his gun and raised his arms like he was mocking people. Besen, a former marine and police officer in Wilmington, North Carolina, then charged, got into a scuffle with Odighizuwa, and knocked him to the ground. Bridges and Gross then arrived with their guns once Odighizuwa was tackled. Additional witnesses at the scene stated they did not see Bridges or Gross with their guns at the time Besen started subduing Odighizuwa.

Once Odighizuwa was securely held down, Gross went back to his vehicle and retrieved handcuffs to detain Odighizuwa until police could arrive.

Police reports later noted that two empty eight round magazines designed for Odighizuwa’s handgun were recovered. Most sources (including those quoting Virginia State Police spokesman Mike Stater) state that when Odighizuwa dropped the gun the magazine was empty, although an initial report suggested the gun still held three rounds of ammunition.

Legal Repercussions

Initially in 2002, Odighizuwa was found to be incompetent to stand trial and was referred for psychiatric treatment. After three years of treatment and monitoring, in 2005, Odighizuwa was found mentally competent and pleaded guilty to the murders to avoid the death penalty. Odighizuwa was sentenced to multiple life terms in prison plus 28 additional years.

Gun control implications

This case was cited by John Lott and others as an example of the media's bias against guns, claiming that the use of a firearm in a defensive role was not reported in most news stories of the event.

Memorials

After the shooting, students at the law school planted trees in memory of Sutin, Blackwell, and Dales on the school's front lawn. The school's student services office and scholarship program were named for Dales, along with County Highway 624 in the Buchanan County, Virginia. Faculty fellowships at the school were named for Sutin and Blackwell. The school's Phi Alpha Delta chapter is named for Sutin while the Phi Delta Phi chapter is named for Blackwell .

References

External links

• CNN Report: Shooting At A Law School

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Last updated on Saturday February 23, 2008 at 08:08:56 PST (GMT -0800)
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