AMY PAULIN IN THE NEWS
Monday, May 11, 2009
Shooting at Alma Mater Even More Disturbing
By Noreen O'Donnell [The Journal News]
The last time I visited Wesleyan University, I ate in the same cafe where Johanna Justin-Jinich was shot down.
I was with friends, and my brother and his family, part of a relaxed weekend in Middletown, Conn., a few years ago.
When a shooting occurs at a school that you attended, it's even more troubling than usual.
Perhaps you shouldn't feel that way - all violence after all is horrible - but there it is. You have a connection.
Justin-Jinich was 21, described as passionate about her studies, a kind young woman who was planning a life of helping others.
Instead she was killed just off campus, in the Red and Black Cafe, allegedly by a man she had encountered while attending a summer course at New York University two years ago.
Stephen P. Morgan was arraigned on first-degree murder charges Friday after turning himself in to police.
He's accused of firing seven shots at her and then fleeing.
Police later found a baseball cap, glasses and a brown wig as well as a laptop computer and a bag with Morgan's composition book.
He seems to have stalked her. While they were in New York, she told police he had sent her repeated and harassing e-mails.
A police report quoted one as saying, "You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any (expletive) criticism, Johanna."
But in the end, she did not file charges and on Wednesday he turned up in Middletown.
According to an arrest warrant released last week, he had written in his composition book: "I think it okay to kill Jews, and go on a killing spree at this school," and "Kill Johanna. She must die."
And all of the same questions were asked again.
How was Justin-Jinich's shooter able to get a gun? Where was it purchased? Was it bought legally or illegally? How can we keep guns out of the hands of killers?
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin has proposed tightening some of New York's gun regulations.
The Scarsdale Democrat would require owners to renew their licenses every five years and would demand that gun shops keep detailed records and report their sales.
Both bills have passed the Assembly but not the Senate.
Of course laws won't prevent all violence.
"Without putting up barriers and walls, I don't know what you could have done in this circumstance," Paulin said.
"Domestic violence is very difficult to combat. This guy was obsessed with her."
But she adds, we should not back off gun laws just because they will not be failure proof.
"The trick is not to use the fact that lunatics can still get guns to block important gun legislation, which will help in gun violence," she said. "It won't prevent it altogether, but it will stop some."
On Friday New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the formation of a New York chapter of State Legislators Against Illegal Guns, an offshoot of the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Paulin is a member.
"Downstate legislators are more convinced that we need to do something to prevent gun violence," she said.
"The upstate legislators are less likely to want to see gun control measures passed. So we realized that we needed to broaden the group a little bit."
Two years ago, 33 people were killed at Virginia Tech University, the country's worst mass shooting.
Two hours passed between the deaths of the first victims and the shooter's rampage through one of the campus buildings.
But university officials, believing the first killings were the result of a domestic dispute, delayed notifying students until about the time the second attack was beginning.
Wesleyan, to its credit, got word out quickly to students and staff to stay indoors.
At 1:40 p.m. the university sent this emergency notification.
"Middletown Police has notified the University that a shooting occurred just after 1:00 p.m. today in the area of Broad Street Books. The suspect has not yet been identified. Middletown Police have responded to the area. We advise students, faculty and staff to remain indoors until more information is available."
An update at 3:15 p.m. said in part: "A Wesleyan student was fatally shot at Red and Black Café this afternoon. The name of the student will be released upon notification of her immediate family. A gun was recovered at the scene of the shooting, however the suspect is still at large. Students, faculty and staff are urged to remain indoors while Middletown Police continue to search for suspect(s). All campus events scheduled for today, including Spring Fling, are canceled."
Meanwhile, the Red and Black Cafe is now closed until September.
"The brutal murder of Johanna Justin-Jinich has left us devastated," reads a message on its Web site.
"Johanna was our employee, our co-worker and our friend. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and our staff."