A shooting on the University of Alabama in Huntsville's campus Friday at 4 p.m. left three faculty members dead and three injured, according to a report by UAH's police.
The shooting took place in a third floor conference room in the Shelby Center for Science and Technology.
The faculty members confirmed dead are Biology Department Chair Dr. Gopi Podila and two associate biology professors, Dr. Maria Davis and Dr. Adriel Johnson.
Dr. Joseph Leahy, associate professor of biology, is in critical condition. Dr. Luis Cruz-Vera, assistant professor of biology, and Stephanie Monticciolo, staff assistant, are in stable condition.
UAH President David Williams released the following statement to the university police.
"The University of Alabama in Huntsville is grieving the loss of three of its leading faculty," said UAH President David Williams in a statement released to police. "Our Department of Biological Sciences has been devastated by this terrible, senseless shooting. We ask for your thoughts and prayers in these difficult times. We will continue to provide as much information as possible when it is confirmed. We are coming together as community to give strength to those who have lost a beloved family member, professor, advisor and colleague."
According to the campus police, no students were involved in or witnessed the shooting.
"This is a horrible tragedy and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," said Gov. Bob Riley in a statement released Friday. "I want to commend the Huntsville police, the Sheriff's office and State Troopers for their response. If there is any assistance state agencies can provide to local authorities, it will be provided."
In a letter to the local community, Williams said a prayer service will be held Feb. 14 at noon in the University Center. He added, "UAHuntsville is a resilient institution. We will face this tragedy together, will learn from this experience, and we will emerge with strength and confidence."
The campus will be closed Feb. 15-19.
WAFF News in Huntsville is reporting that authorities said the alleged killer is Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard graduate. A 9mm gun was found in a bathroom of the Shelby Center.
According to Al.com, it had been rumored that the shooting was in response to Bishop finding out she would not receive tenure. However, Bishop found out she would not receive tenure last April. Bishop appealed her denial, but it was rejected. Bishop was finishing her final year at UAH. The meeting in Shelby on Friday was about everyday things, not tenure.
FOX News said as Bishop was getting in the police car, she said, "It didn't happen. There's no way. ... They are still alive."
According to WAFF, was taken into custody. Bishop has been charged with capital murder.
NPR is reporting Bishop killed her brother, Seth, in 1986. The case was closed as being an accidental gun discharge, but Braintree Police Chief Paul Frazier said the file is missing.
"The report's gone, removed from the files," said Frazier, according to FOX News.
Al.com is reporting that Frazier read a remembrance of the event by former Officer Ronald Solimini: "Bishop fired a round from a pump action shotgun into the wall of her bedroom. She had a fight with her brother and shot him (in the chest), which caused his death. She fired a third round from the shotgun into the ceiling as she exited the home. She fled down the street with the shotgun in her hand. At one point she allegedly pointed the shotgun at a motor vehicle in an attempt to get the driver to stop."
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