STUDENT KILLED IN SHOOTING AT NORTH ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

PHOENIX: A male freshman at Northern Arizona University opened fire on a group of fellow students at the Flagstaff campus early on Friday during a confrontation in a dormitory parking lot, killing one student and injuring three more, the campus police chief said.

The 18-year-old suspect was identified as Steven Jones, an NAU student, said NAU police chief Gregory Fowler.

Mr Fowler told reporters that the suspect did not leave the scene and was arrested without incident. He said the suspect was cooperating with police. He said the shooting occurred around 1.20am local time.

“Two separate student groups got into a confrontation, the confrontation turned physical and one of our students, Steven Jones, 18, produced a handgun and shot four of our other students,” Mr Fowler said. “One of our students is deceased.”

The victims — all males — were shot “multiple times”, he said. They were being treated at Flagstaff Medical Centre.

School administrators identified the victims as Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientek and Nicholas Piring and said the deceased student was Colin Brough.

Mr Prato, Mr Zientek and Mr Piring were being treated for gunshot wounds at Flagstaff Medical Centre, according to a statement from the university.

A Flagstaff Medical Centre representative declined to provide any information on the conditions of the wounded students.

Mr Jones appeared in court on Friday via a video feed from a Coconino County jail. He was wearing a dark, button-down shirt and had no visible injuries. Mr Jones bowed his head as the charges were read against him: one count of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault.

He gave his name and his family’s address in Glendale, saying he had lived there his entire life.

Burges McCowan, a private attorney hired to defend Mr Jones, asked that he be released into the custody of his parents, arguing that he was a lifelong resident and had no serious criminal history.

“He has no other place to go,” Mr McCowan said. “He is not a flight risk.”

Deputy Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker answered that first-degree murder is capital offence and is not bailable when there is strong evidence against a suspect.

Judge Paul Christian set bail at US$2 million and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Oct 15.

The mood on campus on Friday morning was sombre on a day of few classes.

Anna Valdez, a 20-year-old from Southern California, said she was awakened about 4am by family members who had heard about the shooting and wanted to make sure she was not involved.

“This is not something that happens here. We’re a really close-knit community,” said Ms Valdez.

John Karter, an NAU sophmore, said Brough had been a friend.

Mr Karter said he met Brough through Greek activities, although they belonged to different fraternities. He said the different Greek organisations on campus all get along.