In the small town of Grundy, Virginia, the Appalachian School of Law became the scene of a tragic shooting on January 16, 2002. The incident claimed the life of the school's dean, Lewis Anthony Sutin, a 42-year-old male. Sutin, a Harvard Law School graduate and a former high-ranking official in the Justice Department, had relocated to Grundy with a sense of mission to contribute to legal services in the underserved Appalachian region.
The perpetrator was identified as Peter Odighizuwa, a
43-year-old student at the law school. Odighizuwa, who was reportedly facing academic difficulties and had been dismissed from the school, entered the dean's office with a semi-automatic pistol. He shot and killed Dean Sutin at point-blank range in what was described as an execution-style slaying. Continuing his rampage, Odighizuwa also fatally shot Professor Thomas Blackwell and a 33-year-old student named Angela Dales. The shooting also left three other students wounded.
In the moments after the initial shots, as Odighizuwa moved through the school, he was ultimately subdued and apprehended by a group of students who wrestled him to the ground until law enforcement arrived. Odighizuwa was taken into custody by the police at the scene. He was subsequently charged with three counts of premeditated murder, three counts of attempted murder, and six counts of unlawful weapon use.
