Two people, including an 82-year-old man, were shot dead by a gunman at a bar and a home near Penn State University Thursday night, police said.
The shooter first killed a man and injured two others at the P.J. Harrigan’s bar about two miles from campus, according to State College Police Chief John Gardner.
The two injured are in critical condition, police said.
The suspect then fled the scene, crashed his car nearby and broke into a home, where he shot and killed an 82-year-old man as the victim’s wife locked herself in the bathroom and dialed 911, Gardner said.
The suspect, identified by the Centre County Coroner’s Office as 21-year-old Jordan Witmer, had shot himself to death by the time police arrived at the home, police said.
The man killed at the bar was identified as Dean Beachy, 62, and the man gunned down in his home was George McCormick, 82, according to the coroner’s office.
It’s not clear if the suspect knew any of the victims, the coroner said.
“We’re still trying to piece together this tragedy and try to make sense of it. But the more I think about it, there’s no sense to it,” Gardner told reporters.
“It’s Happy Valley, we like to think these things can’t happen here,” Gardner said. “But one of the things it makes you realize is that it can happen here and it does happen here. I guess it’s a sign of the times in the world we live in.”
Some Penn State students tweeted their frustration that the university failed to send out updates as the shooting unfolded.
The university said on Twitter it was State College police who “responded to the shooting in the borough last night as it was not on Penn State’s campus.”
“The alert system includes incidents that are within Clery-reportable locations,” Penn State said. “Nevertheless, we understand our community concerns and the University will continue to review processes.”
The university added, “The safety of our students is a top priority.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
