A research professor at Clemson University was among the three victims shot to death outside a community theater in Athens, Ga., yesterday, and the University of Georgia professor who is suspected in the killings remained at large as of this evening, according to news reports.
The alleged gunman, George Martin Zinkhan III, is a professor of marketing at Georgia, and law-enforcement officials say he poses “a high level of threat for anyone who comes into contact with him,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The University of Georgia, which is located in Athens, repeated in an update on its Web site today a warning that anyone who encountered Mr. Zinkhan should “use extreme caution.”
The Clemson researcher, Thomas Cole Tanner, was director of that institution’s Regional Dynamics Economic Modeling Laboratory, according to a statement on the Web site of Town and Gown Players, the theatrical performing group that the three victims had in common. A Clemson official confirmed Mr. Tanner’s position with the university, according to The Greenville News, a newspaper in South Carolina.
Mr. Tanner had a leading role in the Athens theater group’s current production, whose final performances were canceled. The other victims were the alleged gunman’s wife, Marie E. Bruce, who was the performing group’s president, and Ben Teague, a set designer whose wife, Frances N. Teague, is a professor of English at the University of Georgia. The performing group described Mr. Teague as a translator of German, Russian, and English.
The shootings occurred outside a community theater in Athens, at 12:25 p.m. By 2 p.m., the university had used “UGA Alert,” an emergency-notification system put in place after the Virginia Tech tragedy, to notify more than 20,000 students and others by telephone or text message that Mr. Zinkhan was suspected in the crime and was considered dangerous.
According to witnesses and the police, Mr. Zinkhan argued with his wife yesterday outside a theater where a number of members of the performing group had gathered. He reportedly left, then returned with two handguns, and shot all three victims multiple times. At least two other people were injured by shrapnel, according to news reports.
As of late today, the police still had no leads on his whereabouts. “This guy could be anywhere,” Capt. Clarence Holeman of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department told the Journal-Constitution. “That’s why we have a nationwide search.”
The student newspaper The Red and Black, was also providing updates on the search. It reported that as of 5 p.m., Mr. Zinkhan had not used his cellphone or ATM card.
The university’s president, Michael F. Adams, said in a statement this afternoon that Georgia’s final week of classes would continue as planned this week. “However,” he added, “I urge everyone to continue to exercise caution until the suspect is apprehended.” —Charles Huckabee
