Appalachian School of Law shooting

Infobox civilian attack
title=Appalachian School of Law shooting


caption=
location=Grundy, Virginia, United States
target=Faculty members and students at the Appalachian School of Law
date=January 16, 2002
time=1:00pm
timezone=EDT
type=School shooting
fatalities=3
injuries=3
perps=Peter Odighizuwa

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 former student 43-year-old Peter Odighizuwa opened fire in the school with a handgun.

The shooting

43-year-old former student Peter Odighizuwa arrived on the campus with a handgun. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/16/law.school.shooting/ "Suspect in law school slayings arraigned"] USA Today, January 17, 2002.] Odighizuwa first discussed his academic problems with professor Dale Rubin, where he reportedly told Rubin to pray for him. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/16/law.school.shooting/ "Suspect in law school slayings arraigned"] USA Today, January 17, 2002.] 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. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/01/16/law.school.shooting/ "Suspect in law school slayings arraigned"] USA Today, January 17, 2002.] 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 ["The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong" by John R. Lott, Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2003. This book's section on this shooting incidence is summarized at [http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/04/01/13/lang.htm "Appalachian Law School Shootings, Media Crushes The Truth"] by Ted Lang, the Price of Liberty Website, accessed April 17, 2007.] and one unarmed student. ["Man who confronted 2002 law school shooter says Gingrich wrong on arming students" by Chris Kahn, the Associated Press, found at [http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-sou--virginiatech-gin0424apr24,0,3795608.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia] ] 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. ["Helping to Stop a Killer: Students Went After Law School Gunman" by Rex Bowman, "Richmond Times Dispatch", 5/5/2002. Also "Ex-Charlottean: I Helped Nab Suspect" by Diane Suchetka, "The Charlotte Observer", 2002-01-18, Page 2A.] Gross, a police officer with the Grifton Police Department in his home state of North Carolina, retrieved a 9 mm pistol and body armor. ["Shooting Hits Many Lives, Roanoke Times & World News (Roanoke, VA), January 20, 2002, page A-1. Story can be [http://www.thefeeddirectory.com/p/Feed-Viewer-Appalachian-School-of-Law-Shootings___218,,,3120.html accessed at The Feed Directory] , accessed April 17, 2007.] Bridges, a county sheriff's deputy from Asheville, N.C., ["Ex-Charlottean: I Helped Nab Suspect" by Diane Suchetka, "The Charlotte Observer", 2002-01-18, Page 2A.] 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. ["Helping to Stop a Killer: Students Went After Law School Gunman" by Rex Bowman, "Richmond Times Dispatch", 5/5/2002.] Bridges and Gross approached Odighizuwa from different angles, with Bridges yelling at Odighizuwa to drop his gun. ["Helping to Stop a Killer: Students Went After Law School Gunman" by Rex Bowman, "Richmond Times Dispatch", 5/5/2002; also "Area officer helps wrestle law school gunman to ground" The Asheville Citizen-Times, Story can be [http://www.thefeeddirectory.com/p/Feed-Viewer-Appalachian-School-of-Law-Shootings___218,,,3120.html accessed at The Feed Directory] , accessed April 20, 2007.] Odighizuwa then dropped his firearm and was subdued by several other unarmed students, including Ted Besen and Todd Ross. [ [http://www.uwire.com/content/topops012402002.html "Law school, guns, and a media bias"] by James Eaves-Johnson, "The Daily Iowan" 01/24/2002; Helping to Stop a Killer: Students Went After Law School Gunman" by Rex Bowman, "Richmond Times Dispatch", 5/5/2002; "Ex-Charlottean: I Helped Nab Suspect" by Diane Suchetka, "The Charlotte Observer", 2002-01-18, Page 2A.]

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. [Gun Lobby says media downplayed role of gun owners in subduing shooter," by Rick Montgomery, The Kansas City Star, Mar. 06, 2002.] 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. ["Man who confronted 2002 law school shooter says Gingrich wrong on arming students" by Chris Kahn, the Associated Press, found at [http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-sou--virginiatech-gin0424apr24,0,3795608.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia] ] Additional witnesses at the scene stated they did not see Bridges or Gross with their guns at the time Besen started subduing Odighizuwa. ["A Tragedy Compounded" by Jim Oliphant, the Legal Times, found at [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1024078861416] ]

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, [ [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1024078861416 "A Tragedy Compounded"] , Jim Oliphant, Legal Times, June 20, 2002. Accessed April 18, 2007; also Roanoke Times Jan 17, 2002, and Lexington Herald Leader Jan 18, 2002.] although an initial report suggested the gun still held three rounds of ammunition. [ [http://www.elkintribune.com/Archives/Archives%202002/feb13/Local%20man.html "Local man lives through recent shooting at college"] by Carrie Sidener, The Elkin Tribune, accessed April 17, 2007.]

The perpetrator

The perpetrator, Peter Odighizuwa, then 43 years old, was from Nigeria. 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. [ [http://law.utoledo.edu/students/lawreview/volumes/v36n1/Davis%20WJ.htm "'against all sense and reason" or Change and the Art of Getting Lucky"] by W. Jeremy Davis, Dean and Professor of Law, Appalachian School of Law, "Univ of Toledo Law Review" Volume 34, Number 1, fall 2002, accessed April 17, 2007. Item on Odighizuwa is in footnote xxviii.] Odighizuwa even stated in a later interview that he "had a C average." [ [http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Thought_Disorders/schizo/articles/paranoia_delusions.asp "Appalachian School of Law Killer Still Haunted by Paranoia, Delusions"] by Chris Kahn, Associated Press, accessed August 25, 2007.]

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.

Aftermath

Gun control implications

This case was cited by John Lott ["The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard about Gun Control is Wrong" by John R. Lott, Regnery Publishing, 2003, page 27.] and others ["When Guns Stop Crime, Media Attach Their Silencers" by Donny Ferguson, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), February 4, 2002, page B11.] 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. ["The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard about Gun Control is Wrong" by John R. Lott, Regnery Publishing, 2003, page 27. "When Guns Stop Crime, Media Attach Their Silencers" by Donny Ferguson, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), February 4, 2002, page B11. "Arrogance: Rescuing America From the Media Elite" by Bernard Goldberg, Warner Books, 2003, pages 185-87.]

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 Buchanan County, Virginia. Faculty fellowships at the school were named for Sutin and Blackwell. [ [http://www.asl.edu/memorial/index.php ASL January 16, 2002 Memorial] , Accessed August 25, 2007] The school's Phi Alpha Delta chapter is named for Sutin [ [http://www.asl.edu/current/pad.php Phi Alpha Delta Sutin Chapter] , Accessed August 25, 2007] while the Phi Delta Phi chapter is named for Blackwell [ [http://www.asl.edu/current/pdp.php Phi Delta Phi Blackwell Inn] , Accessed August 25, 2007] .

References

External links

* [http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/01/16/law.school.shooting/ CNN Report: Shooting At A Law School]