A professor at Oberlin College and a woman were found shot dead inside a home on South Pleasant Street in Oberlin, Ohio, on Wednesday morning, October 28, minutes after police took a 31-year-old man into custody nearby, the Oberlin Police Department said in a media release. Police classified the case as a homicide and said charges against the man were pending.
Source: Lorain Daily
The chain of events began at approximately 8:57 a.m., when Oberlin officers went to the Oberlin College Conservatory parking lot at 77 East College Street to assist the Oberlin Fire Department with a vehicle that was smoking and possibly on fire. Officers then tried to locate the vehicle's registered owner to check on his welfare, the release states.
At approximately 10:19 a.m., police located the man in the 200 block of Shipherd Circle and took him into custody without incident. The Oberlin Police Department identified him as Daniel Jones, 31, of Ashland, Oregon. About nine minutes later, officers arrived at 33 South Pleasant Street to check on the welfare of the suspect's family — and found the two victims inside.
"The male victim was discovered on the first floor of the residence and the female victim was discovered on the second floor," the police release states. "Both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds."
The victims
Police described the victims as a 64-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman and did not release their names in the October 28 release. In an update at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oberlin College identified the man as Pipo Nguyen-Duy, its professor of studio art and photography, who had taught at the college since 1998. The woman's name had not been released by police as of Wednesday evening.
"Pipo was beloved. During his years at Oberlin, he touched all of us through his passion for photography," President Ambar wrote in a message to the campus community on Wednesday.
Oberlin College confirmed that police had requested a shelter-in-place order for the campus on Wednesday morning; it was lifted after police confirmed there was no danger to the campus or the community. The college said counselling and other support services are being made available to students, faculty and staff.
"Believed to be of a domestic nature"
In an earlier public notice, Oberlin police described the incident as "believed to be of a domestic nature" and said: "The sole suspect has been detained by the Oberlin Police Department so there is no danger to the public related to this incident." Lorain County Sheriff Jack Hall confirmed the two deaths and identified Oberlin police as the lead agency. "We were just assisting with the initial searching of the suspect and processing of one of the pieces of evidence, which is a motor vehicle," Hall said.
What is not yet known
The police release did not specify Jones's relationship to either victim, and it did not establish when the shootings occurred. Formal charges were listed as pending on Wednesday, and investigators were processing both the residence and the location where the vehicle was found, with affected areas blocked to traffic. Lorain Daily reported it had contacted Oberlin police and the Lorain County Coroner's Office for additional information.
What happens next
Jones remains in custody while the homicide investigation continues, and formal charges are expected to be announced by Oberlin police. The college community, where Nguyen-Duy had taught for 28 years, is being offered support services as students and colleagues absorb the news. Anyone with information about the case is being directed to the Oberlin Police Department, the lead agency in the investigation.