Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, Feb 13 (IANS) An Indian professor was among three faculty members killed in a shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville Friday. Three other employees were wounded in the incident.

A female suspect was in custody for the shooting incident Friday and a second person was detained, “not arrested”, CNN said citing school spokesman Ray Garner.

Garner identified the dead as Gopi Podila, chairman of the biological sciences department; Maria Davis, associate professor of biology; and Adriel Johnson, associate professor of biology.

Indian American professor Podila’s research interest included functional genomics of plant-microbe interactions and plant molecular biology and biotechnology.

Huntsville Police Chief Henry Reyes left open the possibility that more than one person had been detained. “We have a suspect and possible persons of interest,” he said late Friday. “Until we go through everything, we’re not going to say exactly how many or who we have.”

The suspect was taken into custody outside the building, said Reyes. No weapon has been recovered, he said, and added that police were questioning the suspect, whom he would not identify.

Of the wounded, two were faculty members and the third was a staff member, he said. Two of the injured are in critical condition. The injured were identified as department members Luis Cruz-Vera and Joseph Leahy and staffer Stephanie Monticello.

Garner said the incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. in Shelby Hall. Police arrived at 4.01 p.m.; residence halls were locked down at 4.10 p.m.; the building was secured by 5.45 p.m., he said.

Classes and athletic events are to be cancelled Feb 15-19, he said.

Asked why students had not been alerted for more than an hour after the shootings, Reyes said: “I can’t comment on that part.”

Local media, citing authorities, said the shooter was a female staff member who had opened fire after learning at a biology faculty meeting that she would not be granted tenure.