Three Dead, Two Injured In Shooting Near Penn State University

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Shooting Near Penn State University Leaves Three Dead

Three people are dead and two injured following a shooting on Thursday night, just miles from Penn State University.

According to reports from local news outlet ABC 27, the shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. at P.J. Harrigan’s Bar and Grill. The restaurant is located inside the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center, which sits less than two miles away from Penn State’s main campus.

The gunman has now been identified by local authorities as 21-year old Jordan Witmer, who allegedly opened fire on a woman believed to be either his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend.

Witmer also shot and killed 62-year old Dean Beachy along with wounding another man who is now in critical condition before fleeing the restaurant. Witmer then crashed his car and broke into a local home. He killed 83-year old George McCormick inside of the home before shooting and killing himself as well.

“It’s Happy Valley and we like to think these things can’t happen here but one of the things it makes you realize is it can happen here and it did happen here,” State College Police Chief John Gardner said about the incident. “I guess it’s just a sign of the times of the world we live in.”

Beside the horrendous nature of a shooting in and of itself, Penn State students also expressed concerns that they did not initially receive any campus alerts regarding the situation.

Penn State University’s official Twitter account has since addressed the incident, clarifying that it was not actually on their campus.