Officials: Ohio State employee kills co-worker and wounds another, is injured and in custody

Ohio St.: Employee kills co-worker, wounds another

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio State University employee opened fire Tuesday at a campus maintenance building, killing a co-worker and wounding another, the university said. A suspect also was wounded and was taken into custody, officials said.

No students at the university, the nation’s largest, were injured, and classes were held as scheduled.

The shooting was first reported at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, university Police Chief Paul Denton said at a news conference. The two wounded workers were taken to Ohio State University Medical Center, where one was in critical condition and the other was in stable condition, he said. The third employee was pronounced dead at the scene.

Heavily armed campus officers searched buildings in the area, including a university power plant, and the person who police believe was responsible for the shooting was taken into custody, Denton said.

The university said in a statement that the shooting involved its facilities department and said the suspect was one of the two people who had been wounded, but it did not say which one. A university spokesman, Jim Lynch, declined further comment.

Police did not release any names. Investigators were trying to determine the suspect’s motive, Denton said.

“This is a tragic event, and our hearts go out to all of the families,” said Vernon Baisden, a university assistant vice president of public safety.

Graduate student Kiernan Gordon, 31, said he found out about the shooting from his wife, who called him on his cell phone while he was driving to campus. He said he didn’t have any concerns about his own safety.

“Ohio State is really a city unto itself, and like any city it has problems unto itself,” Gordon said.

More than 55,000 students are enrolled at the university’s main campus in Columbus.

The maintenance building where the shooting occurred is adjacent to a classroom building and a parking garage and is near Ohio Stadium, where the school’s football team plays.