Moving Forward Following Muskingum U. Campus Shooting

This weekend Muskingum University was the scene of a shooting, following a baseball game with Olivet College out of Michigan. A Comet player returned to the dugout, where he was shot multiple times by a former Olivet student.

This past weekend, Muskingum University and the New Concord communities were shocked by the news of an active shooter situation on campus. President Sue Hasseler discussed the events of Friday night.

“My first thoughts were for the safety of our students, our staff, the safety of everyone who was there. The visiting team. All the thoughts go through your mind around the well-being of your campus and just everything that we could do to support all who were involved,” explained President Hasseler.

Following the shooting a shelter in place call was put out to the campus. Dr. Hasseler said they regularly conduct practice exercises for instances like Friday night and have a collaborative relationship with law enforcement. They’ll continue to reevaluate their procedures in the wake of this event.

“An incident like this causes you to look at all your procedures, but we’re letting the investigation guide us right now because what we learn through the investigation will be very important.”

This past weekend all activities were cancelled at the university. Now Muskingum is looking for ways to move forward. Classes are back in session and the baseball team has decided they will resume their schedule as they take on Hiram, Tuesday.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s things as normal on campus because this is a disruptive event, so we are offering a number of ways for the campus to process it as we go forward as educators.”

President Hasseler said that Muskingum University is a safe campus and has had no gun issues in over a decade. In a letter to the campus President Hasseler said that on Tuesday the community is invited to gather on the quad at 10:50am for a few moments of shared reflection. A service of prayer and healing wil take place Thursday at Brown Chapel.

The suspected shooter in case Franklin Grayson of Jacksonville, Florida remains in the Muskingum County Jail. He’s charged with one count of attempted murder with a firearm specification and one count of felonious assault with a firearm specification. He’s being held on a $1 million bond.