Female Professor kills 3 in university, brother 23 years earlier,etc.

[TravelingChris]

I am so sad for the families of the dead professors at UA- Huntsville and those injured. I am really angry that her first killing was covered up and nothing was done to punish her. (SHe shotgunned her brother fatally with three shots fired (two not at him) and then left the house and tried to commandeer a vehicle at gunpoint and it was all ruled an accident). Now it also turns out that she was the main suspect in a mail bomb attempt over another professor at Harvard who she thought was against her.

 

Now what makes this so strange is not only is she a female caring out workplace violence but she is a mother of four.

[mrsrevmeg]

What scares is that this is not the only violent professor from UAH. Jury convicts UAH professor of wife's murder

This is the college my oldest son has talked about wanting to go to because he could intern with NASA, but do they not screen these professors?!?!?!?! This campus is not far from our home. (another reason I had previously thought I'd like my kids to go there).

[AngelBee]

I had no clue she was a mother of 4. It is horrible. The whole thing. Praying for all of the families involved.

[MBM]

I am so sad for the families of the dead professors at UA- Huntsville and those injured. I am really angry that her first killing was covered up and nothing was done to punish her. (SHe shotgunned her brother fatally with three shots fired (two not at him) and then left the house and tried to commandeer a vehicle at gunpoint and it was all ruled an accident). Now it also turns out that she was the main suspect in a mail bomb attempt over another professor at Harvard who she thought was against her.

 

Now what makes this so strange is not only is she a female caring out workplace violence but she is a mother of four.

 

How in the world did she get off so easily after killing her brother? Did her family have serious clout? Is there any news about that?

 

Ugh. I feel so sorry for the victims' families and hers, too.

[gingersmom]

And the files relating to the shooting of her brother have magically disappeared.

 

The former police chief says he did nothing wrong. The current police chief seems to think otherwise (or at least appeared that way during a television interview).

 

She has young children. So so sad for all involved.

[LittleIzumi]

And the files relating to the shooting of her brother have magically disappeared.

 

 

Oh my. That makes it all much, much more suspicious-sounding :confused:

[OHGrandma]

And she was a suspect in a bomb threat, in her 20's I think.

 

ETA:

 

An Alabama professor accused of shooting six colleagues was a suspect in the attempted mail bombing of a Harvard Medical School professor in December of 1993, the Boston Globe reported.

Amy Bishop and her husband James Anderson were questioned by authorities after a package with two bombs was sent to Dr. Paul Rosenberg, the newspaper reported.

...

Several months after a federal investigation into the Harvard medical professor's attempted bombing a prime suspect was identified, but never named.

An unnamed law enforcement official told the Globe Sunday the suspect was Bishop, and her husband.

At the time, Bishop was a Harvard doctoral student working at the same hospital as Rosenberg.

The official told the Globe Bishop was suspected because she was allegedly concerned she was going to Globe be given a bad evaluation from the professor on her doctorate work.

Her house was searched and she and her husband were questioned, but the U.S. attorney's office in Boston never brought charges against the couple

Edited February 16, 2010 by OHGrandma

[Heather in AL]

What scares is that this is not the only violent professor from UAH. Jury convicts UAH professor of wife's murder

This is the college my oldest son has talked about wanting to go to because he could intern with NASA, but do they not screen these professors?!?!?!?! This campus is not far from our home. (another reason I had previously thought I'd like my kids to go there).

 

I forgot about that one. That was a lover's triangle, if memory serves.

 

In all honesty, all of us are at the mercy of deranged people anywhere, anytime. Remember the snipers in the northeast? They picked people at random. It *does hit much closer to home, though, when we have a connection of sorts.

 

UAH is my alma mater and I live about 5 minutes from campus. We had considered sending our dc there (chosen majors being the deciding factor). It is a really good school, and hopefully these issues won't take away from that fact and deter potential students.

 

What *did get my attention was that the University prez (I believe it was) said that none of the faculty are given background checks. :confused: I sincerely hope the outcry over that will change to mandatory background checks. Although, in neither of the recent cases would it have made a difference. A lover's triangle 'happens', and with Dr. Bishop, since she was never charged with anything, a background check would not have turned anything up. However, I do wonder if a *reference check should have turned something up relating to the pipe bomb incident with her former professor (or was it a colleague?). Or, it could be that Harvard was anxious to get rid of her and didn't mention that tid bit.... I'm sure more will come out as time goes on, though.

 

I must say that I have a new question for my dc's prospective colleges "do you do background checks on your faculty/staff?"

 

I feel terrible for her children, too. How tragic!

[TravelingChris]

The prosecutor at that time is currently a congressman from Massachusetts who is now deciding whether he will run again.

 

Her mother was involved in local Democratic Party politics and was on the Police Personnel Board but that still seems to me unbelievable that nothing happened to her at all.

[hweakland]

What I want to ask her husband is why he married someone whom he knew killed her own brother? I mean, the circumstances were so in your face not an "accident" and he is supposed to be a smart man! What was he thinking?!!! My prayers are with those kids and the family of the victims, some of whom are still critical.

[asta]

Very sad all around. It makes me wonder about those advocating professors carrying guns to stop dangerous students. Where will it all end?

 

Well... because one qualified individual could have possibly saved one or two of the professors who were killed (eg: fired back at this woman once she started firing).

 

Concealed carry isn't about stopping dangerous students, it is about stopping dangerous individuals.

 

 

a

[kpupg]

How in the world did she get off so easily after killing her brother? Did her family have serious clout? Is there any news about that?

 

 

According to the Times Online, Bishop's mother worked for the police in some capacity: "According to the police chief, Ms Bishop’s mother, Judith, was a public official who sat on a police personnel committee. "

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7026844.ece

 

'Splains a lot, eh ....

[Corraleno]

Her mother was involved in local Democratic Party politics and was on the Police Personnel Board but that still seems to me unbelievable that nothing happened to her at all.

 

I read that the Police Chief at the time unilaterally told the officers to drop charges because it was an accident. He now says that he did nothing wrong, and added that he "was not involved with her mother" ~ which I thought was a strange thing to just throw in there!

 

Jackie

[LibraryLover]

The husband sounds like a piece of work himself. He was investigated as a co-conspirator in the mail bombing case. I hope those kids had a good nanny caring for them, because these two don't sound capable. I hope they check him out thoroughly before giving him custody while she spends the rest of her life in jail. Poor kids.

 

How horrible for all of these families.