A former college professor has been taken into custody and charged with the shooting death of an 18-year-old woman in a Georgia parking lot after an altercation at a pizzeria.
Richard Sigman, 47, was arrested for the murder of Anna Jones, according to the Carrollton Police Department. Sigman was also charged with three counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of crime.
Police say Sigman reportedly engaged in a verbal altercation with an unidentified man at a pizzeria called Leopoldo’s. The man alerted security, alleging that Sigman had threatened to shoot him. Security engaged Sigman, saw he was armed, and ordered him off the premises.
When Sigman left, he took out his gun and fired into a parked car. The bullets hit Jones, according to police.
“Friends immediately drove her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead,” police said, according to NBC News.
Sigman had reportedly been employed at the University of West Georgia, where Jones, a recent high school graduate, was set to attend in the fall.
“On behalf of the university, we wish to convey our deepest condolences to Anna’s family and many friends,” university president Dr. Brendan Kelly said in a statement shared with WXIA. “We know this news is difficult to process and affects many members of our university community. We ask that you keep Anna’s family, friends, and all who have been touched by this tragedy in your thoughts during this tremendously difficult time.”
A GoFundMe to cover Jones’s funeral costs has been set up.
