Officials: Ohio State employee kills co-worker, wounds another, then kills self

Ohio St.: Employee kills co-worker, then self

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new Ohio State University custodial employee who received a bad job evaluation shot two co-workers in a campus maintenance building, killing one of them, and then fatally shot himself, officials said Tuesday.

Nathaniel Brown, who had been hired in October, arrived for work at the nation’s largest university in dark clothing with two handguns in a backpack, campus Police Chief Paul Denton said. Denton described the shooting as work-related and said Brown recently received a poor performance evaluation, though he declined to say whether that was the motive.

No students were hurt and classes went on as scheduled.

The shooting was first reported at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. Brown, 51, was pronounced dead at Ohio State University Medical Center several hours later, Denton said.

One of the victims, building services manager Larry Wallington, 48, died at the scene. The other victim, operations shift leader Henry Butler, 60, was in stable condition at Ohio University Medical Center, officials said.

More than a half-dozen employees were in the maintenance building when the shooting occurred and have been offered grief counseling, Denton said during a news conference.

“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.