An Alpha man dies...
Here is an instance of stupidity abounding in our black community and once again it results in the shortening of a promising life.
Stillwater party turns deadly
John Estus
Senior Staff Writer
A shooter at a fraternity party in a hotel room killed one man and injured three others early Sunday morning.
No arrests have been made, but Stillwater police are pursuing one suspected shooter and a possible accomplice, Lt. Michael Metcalf said at a press conference.
Paul Shanor, 20, of Carrollton, Texas, died at Stillwater Medical Center on Sunday afternoon from a gunshot wound to the chest. Shanor was a member of the University of Oklahoma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and an OU student.
“The University family feels a tremendous sense of loss,” said OU President David Boren in a statement. “Paul was a highly respected student … It is heartbreaking to see his life cut short in such a tragic way.”
A warrant has been issued for Karras Mitchell Harrison, who lives at 2721 Carlton Way in Oklahoma City. Metcalf said the suspect, who has a criminal record in Oklahoma City and is not a student, could face at least one charge of second-degree murder and three charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
Sunday’s homicide is the first in Stillwater since October 2003.
Metcalf said officers were called to Holiday Inn, 2515 W. 6th St., at 3:11 a.m. Sunday and found four gunshot wound victims in the hotel’s Iba Suite.
Metcalf said about 40 to 60 people attended the party that was sponsored by the Oklahoma State University chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha as an after-party for the fraternity’s dance at the OSU Student Union on Saturday night.
The dance at the Student Union and the hotel party were both invitation-only. Metcalf said when some uninvited guests tried to enter the party, Alpha Phi Alpha members denied their entrance and an argument ensued. One of the uninvited guests then fired multiple shots from a .45 caliber weapon into the hotel room and struck four people.
Legaria Thomas, 19, was shot in the face and has been upgraded to stable condition after she was flown in critical condition to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Thomas is an OSU student.
Curtis Canaday, 22, was shot in the hand and has been treated and released from Stillwater Medical Center. Canaday is a student at Langston University.
The third victim, who has not been named, is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Stillwater Medical Center.
“It is deeply saddening and troubling when a gathering of students and their friends turns violent because of the actions of a few,” said OSU President David Schmidly in a statement.
Cory Cox, president of Alpha Phi Alpha at OSU, would not comment.
On Nov. 18, 2004, OSU administrators banned Alpha Phi Alpha and seven other African-American fraternities and sororities from having dances in the Student Union after Stillwater police found a gun on a man who was involved in one of many fights at an Alpha Phi Alpha dance in the Student Union on Oct. 2, 2004. The man was not a student.
At least one other event has been held in the Student Union since the ban was lifted last fall.
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