Vigil attendees, IUP students express shock, fear over nearby off-campus shooting

Indiana University of Pennsylvania student Christine Berry of Pittsburgh’s North Side had a “sense that something (bad) might happen” at a homecoming party Saturday night at a local community center a couple of miles from campus.

Berry said she told friends not to go the party, not to walk the long distance from campus to the Chevy Chase Community Center in White Township on a cold night.

Her foreboding sense might have saved her and her friends from the tragedy that occurred when gunshots rang out at the community center early Sunday.

One person was killed and at least eight were wounded in the shooting, authorities said.

Berry was among about 100 people from the university and the Indiana-area community who gathered around the front steps of the Indiana County Courthouse along Philadelphia Avenue on Sunday evening for a 25-minute vigil with prayers and pleas that it never happen in Indiana again.

Speakers offered the hope that it would be the beginning of the healing process after the shooting stung the community.

Related:

• 1 dead, at least 8 others injured in mass shooting at Indiana County party
• Fatal shooting stuns Indiana County community as police search for suspects
• Off-campus shooting near IUP the latest for university community to endure
• Fatal Indiana County shooting marks 540th mass incident this year, according to gun violence group

Amid police presence around the courthouse and six state police troopers on horses nearby, Berry said she wanted to be there “because the community of Indiana needs support from IUP.”

She was among the few IUP students at the vigil.

Although Indiana County is a rural community, County Commissioner Robin Gorman reminded those in the audience that it is not immune to what has happened to other communities that have suffered through mass shootings.

“We tried so hard to make sure this kind of situation did not happen. I pray for everyone in the Chevy Chase community. I don’t want this here. I especially don’t want it for our young people,” Gorman said.

IUP President Michael Driscoll called it “a loss of innocence for all of us. This doesn’t happen in Indiana,” he said.

Sunday afternoon, small clusters of students walked around the IUP campus, aware that the person or people responsible for the shooting at the community center remained on the loose. Some students shied away from commenting on the shooting, saying they knew little about it.

“It was definitely scary,” freshman Jessica Hickman, 18, said of the shooting.

She wasn’t alone in her assessment.

“I’m just shocked. I did not expect this thing to happen,” said Jonah Smith, 19, a freshman from Warminster, Bucks County.

IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said the party was not affiliated with the university, but she added that at least two IUP students were injured.

“It’s a scary thing that it’s so close to campus,” said freshman Carly Schweighart of Harrisburg.

Hickman, who is from Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, said she was surprised that a mass shooting happened in the midst of rural Indiana County.

“It’s not something we would expect (here). This thing happens at Oakland and in Pittsburgh,” Hickman said.

Jade Peffer of Carlisle, also a freshman, said it’s unfortunate the shooting occurred over homecoming weekend.

“We’re just trying to have a good time, and something bad had to happen,” she said.

Authorities have not made an arrest, something Hickman said likely contributed to fewer people being in the campus dining hall.

Several students she knew ordered takeout from nearby restaurants, which allowed them to stay in the safety of their dorm rooms, Hickman said.

The students said the shooting, along with the reputation for disturbances associated with the annual St. Patrick’s Day revelry called IUPatty’s, hurts the university’s reputation.

IUP officials were commended for issuing an early-morning alert sent to students about the shooting.

Peffer said she was awakened by the alert and knew she had to call home to let her mother know she was safe.

Jennifer Jack’s son, Donovan, is a senior at IUP. Jack, of Kittanning, said she appreciated the safety alert from campus and knew her son was safe because he was on campus.

“It’s scary. It’s so sad,” she said. “We were praying for all of the victims at church.”