Youngstown State Fraternity Shooting Leaves One Dead, 11 Wounded

Feb. 6, 2011— -- One person is dead and 11 were wounded after someone opened fire at a Youngstown State University fraternity house, police said.

The shooting happened early today, and Youngstown, Ohio, police said they are still investigating.

"It was a frat party that was going on," Youngstown Police Department Lt. Franklin Palmer said.

Police arrested two men this afternoon, but did not immediately release their names, saying they were continuing to investigate.

The men were each charged with one count of aggravated murder, 11 counts of aggravated assault and one count of shooting into a house.

The two suspects got into an argument at the party, then left and came back and started shooting outside the house, Youngstown police Chief Jimmy Hughes said, according to The Associated Press.

"These guys were in the location for a little while before the shooting occurred," he said. "Something happened that they became unhappy. They had some type of altercation."

There were more than 50 people at the party, and some were as young as 17, Hughes said.

According to YSU officials, the man who was killed, identified by the Mahoning County coroner's office as 25-year-old Jamail E. Johnson, and at least six of the wounded were students at the school.

Johnson was shot in the head and legs, the coroner's office said.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams said he was confident the guilty party or parties would be found.

"They will be brought to justice and again, in my opinion, are not fit to exist in a civilized society," he said.

YSU President Cynthia Anderson sent a text alert to the campus community, alerting them to the shooting.

"I want to express my deepest sympathies to the family of the student who died in this tragic act of violence, and to ask everyone to keep him and the other students in their thoughts and prayers," Anderson wrote. "It is a sad day for the YSU family."

School officials said police believe that even though there has been no arrest, there is no further threat to the university's students, faculty or staff.

A neighbor told The Associated Press that there were often weekend parties at the fraternity house where the shootings occurred and at another frat house next to it, but that there were never any problems with the students who lived there.

"It's a nice, quiet neighborhood," Rodger Brown, 54, told the AP.

He said that the fraternity members were friendly and once last fall offered him a beer and a ride as he was walking home.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he was "shocked and saddened" by the shooting rampage.

"I join all Ohioans in expressing my deepest sympathy to the victims, their families, and to the entire university community," he said in a statement released this afternoon. "The University President and state law enforcement officials have provided me with an update on the incident, and I have offered to them the use of any and all state resources they might require. I will continue to monitor the situation and provide any support necessary to help those impacted by this tragic event."