The Seattle school shooting at a Christian university, on June 5, could have been much more devastating if students hadn’t helped stop the gunman, who killed one person and injured three others. According to witnesses that spoke with The Seattle Times, 26-year-old male gunman Aaron Ybarra was tackled by student Jon Meis after opening fire inside a campus building at Seattle Pacific University. Meis, who was working as a building monitor, pepper sprayed Ybarra as he was reloading a shotgun. Meis then put Ybarra in a chokehold and took him to the ground to subdue him, according to police and Meis’ roommate. Other students and faculty, then, held the gunman down until police arrived.
Students told law enforcement that Ybarra, who was not a student at the university, was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, skater sneakers, and jeans when he walked into the foyer of a campus building around 3:30 p.m. and shot three students. A 19-year-old victim of the shooting was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The other three students are listed in critical condition and are expected to recover from their injuries.
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Officials say there is no clear cut motive for this case. Most of those who know of Ybarra didn’t expect him to commit such a crime. One of his closest friends Zack McKinley described the gunman as “super happy and friendly. He’s an awesome guy, someone who would never let you down.” McKinley said, “It makes no sense at all.” The suspect’s father Ambrose Ybarra said, “We just hope he’s safe. I’m a family man. I just need to put my arms around my family now. We just need to sit down and talk.”
Law enforcement say the shooting could have been much worse if the students hadn’t aided in his apprehension before police arrived. Ybarra was “hellbent on killing a lot of people today” and planned to kill himself. School officials report that the shooting occurred on the second-to-last day of classes and classes are cancelled for the week.
Ybarra is expected to appear in court today for arraignment and a bail hearing at 1:30 p.m. PST.