4th person dies after shooting spree near Penn State University

Friday, January 25, 2019
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- A fourth person has died after a shooting spree that began in a bar and ended in a home near Penn State University.[br /][br /]The shooting occurred Thursday about 10:30 p.m. at P.J. Harrigan's Bar & Grill on Atherton Street in State College, Pa. The bar is located inside the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center and about two miles from Penn State University's main campus.[br /][br /][media ID="5106104" /][br /][Ads /][br /]Police have identified the gunman as 21-year-old Jordan Witmer of Bellefonte, Pa.[br /][br /]They said Witmer shot and killed a man, identified as 62-year-old Dean Beachy of Millersburg, Ohio, inside the bar.[br /][br /]A man and a woman were also shot inside the bar and were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.[br /][br /]The man who was hit, Steve Beachy, later died. Steve Beachy was Dean Beachy's son.[br /][br /]Authorities said Witmer drove away from the bar, crashed his car, and then broke into a home. Once inside, they said he shot and killed the homeowner before shooting and killing himself.[br /][Ads /][br /]That homeowner has been identified as 83-year-old George McCormick.[br /][br /]Police said McCormick's wife locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.[br /][br /][media ID="5106113" /][br /][br /]"It's Happy Valley. We like to think these things can't happen here. But one of the things it makes you realize is that it can happen here and it does happen here. I guess it's a sign of the times in the world we live in here," said State College Police Chief John Gardner.[br /][br /]It is unclear what motivated the shooting spree or if Witmer knew any of the victims.[br /][br /]"We're still trying to piece together this tragedy and try to make sense of it," Gardner said. "But the more I think about it, there's no sense to it."[br /][br /][media ID="5105970" /][br /][br /]A number of Penn State students [url HREF="https://onwardstate.com/2019/01/25/students-angry-at-penn-state-after-no-alert-sent-for-state-college-shooting/" TARGET="blank" REL=""]were tweeting their frustrations[/url] that the university did not send out an alert after the shootings happened.[br /][br /][twitter ID="1088650542841249792" /][br /][br /]In a statement, university officials said student safety is their top priority.[br /][br /]"State College Police responded to the shooting in the borough last night as it was not on Penn State's campus. The alert system includes incidents that are within [url HREF="https://police.psu.edu/clery" TARGET="blank" REL=""]Clery-reportable locations[/url]. Nevertheless, we understand our community concerns and the University will continue to review processes."[/i][br /][Ads /][br /]----[br /][br /][url HREF="https://www.abc27.com/" TARGET="blank" REL=""]WHTM-TV[/url] and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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