Man kills ex-wife, self at PSU Beaver
A man killed his ex-wife then shot himself Wednesday on the campus of Penn State Beaver.
No students were involved in the shooting, reported at 3:38 p.m. at 100 University Drive in Monaca, university spokeswoman April Johnston-Smith said.
State police Lt. Eric Hermick identified the victim as Lesli Kelly, 49, of Ohioville and the shooter as William Kelly, 52, of Hopewell. Ms. Kelly was employed at the university’s food services building.
The Kellys recently went through a divorce and were having child custody issues, Lt. Hermick said. The couple had three children, all of whom were safe and staying withrelatives late Wednesday.
Lt. Hermick said Mr. Kelly arranged to meet Ms. Kelly at the food services building under the guise of dropping off a Christmas package. Instead, when he got to the campus, he pulled out two .45caliber handguns and shot his exwife from “a matter of feet away” then shot himself, Lt. Hermick said.
Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier said that after authorities learned of the shootings, they were preparing to mobilize for a crisis situation, but quickly learned the gunman was not loose on campus.
“Beaver County SWAT and Center Township police were ready to respond but their assistance was not needed,” he said.
Ms. Johnston-Smith said Mr. Kelly was not employed at the university. Investigators were unaware of any active protection from abuse order against him.
Investigators believe Mr. Kelly fired both guns, and police recovered both at the scene. Lt. Hermick said at least eight shell casings were found.
Two students and a custodial employee witnessed the shooting, according to Lt. Hermick. He said they were never in any danger.
The university alerted students through tweets on its official account, telling them to avoid the area near the student union. At 4 p.m., the university reported that there was no ongoing threat.
Ms. Johnston-Smith said fewer students than usual were on campus because the school was amid finals week. She said all finals that were scheduled for Thursday have been moved to Friday.
The area was evacuated and the campus was closed, with all nonessential personnel sent home, Ms. Johnston-Smith said.
Jenifer Cushman, chancellor of Penn State Beaver, said in a statement that the shooting was tragic, and that counseling was available for students, faculty and staff.
“Our entire Penn State community is profoundly saddened by the tragedy at the Beaver campus,” Penn State president Eric J. Barron said in another statement. “Our deepest sympathies go to the victim’s family and friends during this very difficult time, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Beaver community.”