Despite the disclaimer that this is not another VT situation, this story seems to be hitting the news services pretty widely:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/05/08/state/n071920D52.DTL&type=printable
edited to add: Google news search shows 270+ stories:
http://news.google.com/nwshp?client...e=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&tab=wn&ncl=1116142701
Fresno State student suspected of killing 1, wounding 2 others
By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
(05-08) 09:55 PDT Fresno, Calif. (AP) --
Police and federal agents launched a manhunt Tuesday for a college student who allegedly opened fire at an apartment near California State University, Fresno, killing one man and wounding two others in a dispute over a Playstation video game console, police said.
Police initially believed Jonquel Brooks, 19, of Hayward, was still inside University Village Apartments, but expanded the search to surrounding areas and other parts of town after they determined he had fled, said Jeff Cardinale, a spokesman for the Fresno Police Department.
The suspect was believed to be armed and dangerous, and the murder weapon had not been recovered, police said.
A SWAT team was communicating by phone with Brooks by phone and negotiating for his surrender. The suspect originally told officers he was going to turn himself in at police headquarters at 9 a.m., but failed to appear, said Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Brooks got into a confrontation with four men shortly after 11 p.m. Monday before he pulled out a gun and started firing, Cardinale said.
"This is not another Virginia Tech," Cardinale said. "This is simply a dispute between one person and a group of individuals."
Police identified the deceased victim as a 19-year-old former student at Fresno State. The wounded men, 19 and 22, were taken to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds. One was a current student and the other was planning to enroll, police said. It was unclear what happened to the fourth man.
Police would not release the names of any of the victims, but said all were acquaintances of Brooks who lived in the same apartment complex.
A man with a bloody bandage on his left shoulder who described himself as one of the victims told The Associated Press the dispute started when he and the other victims accused Brooks of stealing a Playstation video game console and game.
"The guy who shot us — he had stolen from our apartment. We went to confront him with the evidence and it just turned ugly from there. He pulled a gun out on us," said Drew Pfeiff, 22, a Fresno State junior from Raleigh, N.C.
Brooks fired five or six times, grazing Pfeiff, he said.
"I hope they find him," Pfeiff said. "People don't deserve to die for stupid stuff like this."
A woman who said she was Brooks' ex-girlfriend described him as a "fine, normal, goofy, silly" teen who wanted to be a parole officer.
"I'm a little upset at him that he did what he did. I never would have expected it from him. You don't wish this on anybody," said Meosha Chase, 19, a Fresno State freshman from Oakland.
Chase, who said she lived in the apartment below Brooks, said she had stopped talking to him in the last several months and had no idea what could have caused him to snap.
Chase said the other residents of University Village, located just north of Bulldog Stadium, were evacuated and sent to sleep in a campus dining hall.
Police received reports of the shooting around 11:15 p.m. Monday. When officers arrived, they were met by the two wounded men as they fled the apartment, police said.
The campus, which has about 20,000 students, remained open while school officials waited for direction from the police, said Tom Uribe, a university spokesman.
"We were assured by the police that the campus was safe and we're waiting to hear more," he said. "We may have to re-evaluate but this is all developing quickly."
The university sent out a notice to students, faculty and staff Tuesday morning and posted an alert on the school's Web site. The school is offering accommodations and counseling to students affected by the shooting.
Around midnight, Fresno police notified the apartment complex's managers that the shooting had happened, said Gina Cowart, a spokeswoman for American Campus Communities, an Austin, Texas-based company that runs the complex, which has about 400 beds.
The company sent an e-mail to residents of the complex around 12:30 a.m., telling them that the shooting had taken place and warning them to be cautious, Cowart said.
"Driving up I was thinking, did this happen in my apartment complex? It's getting a little close to home," said Cory Medigovich, 22, a senior at Fresno State and a resident of the apartment complex next door.
___
Associated Press Writers Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco and Olivia Munoz in Fresno contributed to this report.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/05/08/state/n071920D52.DTL&type=printable
edited to add: Google news search shows 270+ stories:
http://news.google.com/nwshp?client...e=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&tab=wn&ncl=1116142701
