May 7, 2001 Contact: Elizabeth Conlisk(614) 292-3040
COLUMBUS -- A 21-year-old Detroit man who held police at bay for five hours is in OSU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries after shooting himself in an Ohio State University residence hall about 3:05 p.m. today. His name is being withheld pending notification of relatives.
The man had spent the weekend at Stradley Hall, 138 W. 11th Ave., as the guest of a female resident of the fifth floor. The man apparently became despondent when the friend asked him to leave this morning, as planned. When the man waved a gun and threatened to harm himself, the woman reported the situation to hall staff. Staff then immediately called University Police at 10:18 a.m. At no time did he threaten the woman or any other Ohio State students.
Vernon Baisden, assistant vice president for public safety, said University Police responded with the special response team, a SWAT-trained group of officers. University Police also evacuated all residents of the fifth, as well as the fourth and sixth floors of Stradley, and blocked off pedestrian and vehicular traffic in areas within pistol range of the room’s window. Emergency Medical Services personnel from Columbus Division of Fire were on the scene throughout the crisis.
University Police negotiators attempted to persuade the man to disarm and offered the university’s counseling services. The man’s father spoke with his son by phone as he drove down from Detroit to assist in the negotiations. Two counselors from the university’s Counseling and Consultation Services advised police and offered support to hall staff and residents.
At 3:05 p.m. police heard a gunshot from inside the room. They waited a few minutes and then activated a temporary disorienting device known as a “flash bang” so they could enter the room safely. They found the man lying on a bed with a gunshot wound to the head.
“Obviously, this was a tragic situation,” Baisden said. “We took appropriate precautions to protect our students, so they were not in any danger throughout this situation. The hall staff and the residents of Stradley, as well as University Police, are to be commended for their composure and professional response under tremendous pressure. Our concern was for this young man, and we are very sorry we were unable to persuade him to take another course of action.”
University Police are in the process of an entire crime scene analysis, including interviewing witnesses to establish the facts in the case.
Stradley Hall was reopened to all residents shortly after the incidents. The residents of the women’s wing of the fifth floor will spend the night at the Fawcett Center while police wrap up their investigation.