UPDATE: Oct. 10, 10:27 a.m.
A shooting occurred at Northern Arizona University early Friday morning after an altercation broke out between two groups of students, leaving three injured and one dead.
According to a televised press release from the Northern Arizona University Police Department, 18-year-old freshman Steven Jones has been identified as the shooter. Jones opened fire at four other students outside of Mountain View Hall on the northeast end of campus at 1:20 a.m.
Jones was taken into custody after the altercation.
According to the televised release, NAU student Colin Brough died as a result of the shooting. Three others — Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientec and Nicholas Pring — are being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center.
The four victims were all members of the Delta Chi fraternity. Jones however, was a pledge for the Sigma Chi fraternity.
According to the Washington Post, court documents said that the shooting happened after a fight broke out between two student groups.
Jones told the court that he was punched in the face and chased back to his car where he retrieved the gun. Two members of the group came toward him, and Jones shot both.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, as well as the entire Lumberjack family,” said NAU President Rita Cheng this morning during an early morning statement to the press. “This is not going to be a normal day. Our hearts are heavy.”
According to an updated NAU press release from late Friday afternoon, Jones was arraigned by video and charged with one count of first-degree homicide and three counts of aggravated assault.
The judge set the cash-only bail for Jones at $2 million.
While police and first responders were quick to reach the scene, NAU’s emergency text alert system did not function properly in the moments immediately following the shooting. According to the release, “human error” caused the alerts to only go out to 700 individuals. It wasn’t until over an hour after the incident that an alert was sent to the entire NAU community.
As of Friday night, there is no update on the status of the three wounded individuals being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center.
NAU will open its Counseling Services from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. The Office of Student Life and the Health and Learning Center open at 10 a.m.
Oct. 9, 9:43 a.m.
A shooting occurred at Northern Arizona University early this morning after an altercation broke out between two groups of students, leaving three injured and one dead.
According to a televised press release from the Northern Arizona University Police Department, 18-year-old freshman Steven Jones has been identified as the shooter. Jones opened fire at four other students outside of Mountain View Hall on the northeast end of campus at 1:20 a.m.
Jones was taken into custody following the altercation.
According to the release, NAU student Colin Brough died as a result of the shooting. Three others — Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientek and Nicholas Piring — are being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, as well as the entire Lumberjack family,” said NAU President Rita Cheng this morning during a statement to the press. “This is not going to be a normal day. Our hearts are heavy.”
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