stacks.msnbc.com
GRUNDY, Va., Jan. 17 — A former law student who is accused of
killing his dean, a law professor and another student told a judge
Thursday that he is sick and needs help.
Jan. 17 -- Tracy Bridges
describes to NBC’s “Today”
how he helped apprehend the
suspect.
PETER ODIGHIZUWA shuffled into Buchanan County General
District Court in leg chains, surrounded by police officers.
Hiding his face behind his green arrest warrant, Odighizuwa told Judge
Patrick Johnson, “I was supposed to see my doctor. He was supposed to
help me out. ... I don’t have my medication.”
Odighizuwa, a 43-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Nigeria, went
to the Appalachian School of Law on Wednesday to talk to his dean, L.
Anthony Sutin, about Odighizuwa’s dismissal for failing grades, officials
said. He shot Sutin and professor Thomas Blackwell, who taught
Odighizuwa’s contracts classes, with a .380-caliber pistol, authorities and
students said.
Also killed was student Angela Dales, 33, said State Police spokesman
Mike Stater. Three other students were injured and were hospitalized in
fair condition.
Prosecutors charged Odighizuwa with three counts of capital murder,
three counts of attempted capital murder and six charges for use of a
firearm in a felony.
A few minutes before his arraignment, Odighizuwa told reporters as he
was led into the courtroom, “I was sick, I was sick. I need help.”
When Johnson said he would appoint lawyer James C. Turk Jr. to
represent him, Odighizuwa asked for another attorney. But Johnson
appointed Turk and said, “Once you’ve talked with him, I’m sure you’ll
see he can help you.”
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Odighizuwa will remain held without bond pending a preliminary
hearing March 21.
STUDENT INTERVENTION
Students ended the rampage by confronting and then tackling the
gunman, officials said.
“We saw the shooter, stopped at my vehicle and got out my handgun
and started to approach Peter,” Tracy Bridges, who helped subdue the
shooter with other students, said Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show. “At
that time, Peter threw up his hands and threw his weapon down. Ted was
the first person to have contact with Peter, and Peter hit him one time in
the face, so there was a little bit of a struggle there.”
The suspect, known on the rural campus as “Peter O.,” had been
struggling with his grades for more than a year and had been dismissed once
before.
Chris Clifton, the
school’s financial aid
officer, met with
Odighizuwa on Tuesday.
“He was angry. He
thought he was being
treated unfairly, and he
wanted to see his
transcript,” said Clifton.
“I don’t think Peter
knew at this time that it
(his dismissal) was going to be permanent and final,” Clifton added.
NEW LAW SCHOOL
The private law school has an enrollment of about 170 students. It
opened five years ago in a renovated junior high school to help ease a
shortage of lawyers in the region and foster renewal in Appalachia.
Sutin, a 1984 graduate of
Harvard Law School, also was an
associate professor at the school.
He left the Justice Department to
help found the school.
Previously, he had worked for the
Democratic National Committee
and Bill Clinton’s 1992
presidential campaign, according
to the Web site of Jurist, the Legal Education Network.
Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a statement expressing his
condolences to Sutin’s wife and their two children.
Former Attorney General Janet Reno called Sutin (pronounced Sutton)
“not only a former colleague but a friend” and “an incredibly kind,
exceptionally bright and intensely dedicated public servant who was
committed to bettering the welfare of all Americans.”
“It’s real shocking right now,” said Bridges. “Dean Sutin had children
and everyone’s worried about that. It seems kind of surreal right now.”
MSNBC.com’s Alex Johnson, and The Associated Press contributed
to this report. |
