Athens, GA Theater Shooting.

[CavezziMagnum]

Hello CB,

I don't know if any of you have heard, but last Saturday, in Athens, GA, a marketing professor of the University of Georgia, George Zinkhan, entered the Town & Gown Playhouse and began shooting. He ended up shooting Marie Bruce, Tom Tanner, and Ben Teague. He then fled the scene, and the police have yet to apprehend him. He is driving a Red Jeep Liberty. There is more information available online on CNN.com.

Marie Bruce was his wife as well as on the board of directors for Town & Gown Players. Tom Tanner was a major contributor to the theatre, acting when called upon, but mostly designing sets. He served as my Set Designer when I was LD for their production of Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang, in March 2008. Ben Teague was the driving force behind the theatre, and there is nothing I can say that can do his memory justice. He was the Town & Gown Players. He was at every rehearsal, helped build every set, was at every opening night. An amazing individual and all 3 will be missed. Please keep the family members and friends of these victims in your prayers. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Cavezzi, no longer of Magnum. I am working Utah Shakes this summer, as Electrics Administrator, then going for my MFA at Cincinnati-CCM.

 

[Footer]

I did not know them personally, but nearly everyone on our drama faculty has worked with them and could not have better things to say. This really is a horrible situation.

PS, congrats, have fun at CCM!

 

[draco17315]

I did not know your friends, but they sound like wonderful people who inspired you and I am sure many others...I know I speak for myself, and I am sure for all of my crew kids and many others out there as well when I say "I am truly sorry for your loss and the hurt that the families and friends must endure. We will keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers. We will leave a light on for your friends."

Sincerely, Joe Kress
TD
Susquehannock High School
William Penn Sr. High

 

[bdkdesigns]

Saw this on Yahoo just now:

ATHENS, Ga. – A professor wanted for killing his wife and two other people at a community theater two weeks ago was found dead in the north Georgia woods Saturday, his body covered in brush and dirt, officials said.
Two guns were found with the body of marketing professor George Zinkhan, who vanished after the April 25 shootings near the University of Georgia, said Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Joseph Lumpkin.
The guns matched those described by witnesses to the shootings, though police did not say how they believe Zinkhan died. Authorities said they would not release a cause of death or say whether Zinkhan left a note until a press conference Tuesday.
Cadaver dogs found Zinkhan's body about 10 miles west of Athens in thick woods in Bogart, where he lived. Searchers — as many as 200 at one point — had been scouring the woods since his Jeep was found wrecked and abandoned in a ravine about a mile away a week ago.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab confirmed later Saturday that the body was Zinkhan.
Reached by phone at her home in Baltimore, his mother, Mary, said she was aware of the discovery.
"I've heard that news," she said. "I have nothing to say about it."
Zinkhan had been missing since police said he opened fire on a reunion for the Town & Gown Players, a local theater group.
He argued outside the theater with his wife, Marie Bruce, 47, a family law attorney who was serving as the group's president.
Police say he walked away briefly before returning with two handguns and killing her, along with Clemson University economist and actor Tom Tanner, 40, and Ben Teague, 63, a longtime theater group volunteer who was married to a popular UGA professor. Two other people were injured by bullet fragments.
Police at first said they had no motive for the shooting. The FBI said later friends and family indicated Bruce may have been considering a divorce.
Zinkhan was last seen dropping off his children, who were in the car during the shootings but weren't injured, with a neighbor. He said there was an emergency.
Bulletins were issued nationwide and authorities kept watch on airports in case Zinkhan tried to flee to Amsterdam, where he had taught part-time at a university since 2007. Federal authorities later revealed Zinkhan had an upcoming flight booked to Amsterdam, but the professor never showed up at the airport.
Zinkhan had been a professor in the university's Terry College of Business and had no disciplinary problems, school officials said. He had taught at UGA since the 1990s and was fired after the shootings.
"I express my sincerest condolences to the loved ones and friends of the victims of this tragedy," UGA President Michael Adams said. "Our hearts go out to each of them as they try to bring closure to and cope with the pain and sorrow these losses of life have caused them. May they ultimately find healing and peace."
Bob Covington, the neighbor who Zinkhan dropped his children off with after the shooting, called Saturday's discovery "another sad chapter to the story."
"For the community, the families, his kids and this neighborhood, this last chapter will provide some healing," Covington said. "It's been two weeks of people being on pins and needles, every time you see a police car. I think this will ease a lot of tension. People can get back to their lives and move on from this horrible tragedy."