1 student killed, 3 wounded at Arizona campus during fight

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona — An overnight brawl between two groups of students escalated into gun violence on Friday when a freshman at Northern Arizona University opened fire on four fraternity members, killing one and wounding three. Steven Jones, an 18-year-old fraternity pledge, told police he shot the group of students only after they hit him in the face and chased him, according to court documents. He also said he tried to administer first aid to one of the victims. Prosecutors said the suspect’s account amounted to a “self-serving” statement and alleged Jones was the aggressor. “There is no indication of self-defense here,” Deputy Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said. “The defendant had retreated from the fight, he obtained a gun and then he went back into the fray.” The shooting occurred in a parking lot just outside Mountain View Hall dormitory on the Flagstaff campus, which provides housing for many of the campus’ sororities and fraternities. Several frantic people called 911 to report the shooting, some looking down onto a parking lot from their dorm windows and seeing people with gunshot wounds. “I first thought it was a joke but people started screaming,” said one man, breathing heavily on the phone. Dispatchers instructed some callers to stay inside, lock their doors and turn off the lights while advising help was on the way. The victims were all members of the Delta Chi fraternity while Jones was a pledge at Sigma Chi. It’s not clear why the fight started. Student Colin Brough was killed, and Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientek and Nicholas Piring were wounded. The prosecutor said Brough was hit twice — in the chest and shoulder — with Jones’ .40-caliber handgun. Flagstaff Medical Center said it couldn’t release any information on conditions. “This is not going to be a normal day at NAU,” said school President Rita Cheng. “Our hearts are heavy.” Jones was booked Friday for one count of first-degree homicide and three counts of aggravated assault. Defense attorney Burges McCowan asked Flagstaff Justice Court Judge Paul Christian to allow Jones to be released to his parents in Glendale, Arizona, saying he has no prior criminal history and is a lifelong resident of Arizona. Bond was set at $2 million. The shooting set off panic at the Flagstaff campus as students heard gunshots and quickly took to social media to figure out what happened. Student Maria Gonzalez told The Associated Press that she at first suspected firecrackers when the shooting happened. “I was studying for an exam, so I looked out the window and see two people running, and that’s when I realized they weren’t fireworks, they were actually gunshots,” she said. The university’s Delta Chi fraternity chapter held a candlelight ceremony to honor the victims of Friday’s shooting, the Arizona Republic reported. The Flagstaff shooting came on the same day that President Barack Obama visited Roseburg, Oregon, where eight students and a teacher were shot and killed last week at Umpqua Community College. Northern Arizona University is a four-year public university that has more than 25,000 total undergraduate students at the campus in Flagstaff, a city about two hours north of Phoenix. — AP