Georgia professor suspect in theater shooting
Kate Brumback- AP
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: News
Two people who knew college professor George Zinkhan early in his career described him as an ambitious and gifted academic with a promising future, but recent students at the University of Georgia said Zinkhan seemed disorganized and distant.
Police were searching Sunday for the 57-year-old marketing professor in the shooting deaths of his wife and two men outside a community theater in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta. Zinkhan was last seen dropping his two young children off at his neighbor's house after the Saturday afternoon shootings, saying there was an emergency and he needed someone to watch them.
"If you gave me a list of 100 people who might crack in this way, I would have put him at the bottom of that list," said Michael R. Hyman, a marketing professor at New Mexico State University. Hyman knew Zinkhan in the mid-1980s when both were associate professors at the University of Houston.
Zinkhan was highly regarded for his abilities and his intellect, enjoyed writing poetry and was a bit of a history buff, Hyman said. He was collegial and never showed violent tendencies or even raised his voice.
Hyman and a former doctoral student of Zinkhan's at the University of Houston, Richard Tansey, both said they were shocked to hear Zinkhan was accused of shooting anyone, and said they never knew him to use or talk about guns.
Killed Saturday afternoon were Zinkhan's wife, Marie Bruce, 47, Tom Tanner, 40, and Ben Teague, 63. All were members of a local theater group, and the shooting occurred during a reunion for past and present group members. Two others were injured by shrapnel.
Josh Gurley, 21, is a junior at the school and was taking a marketing class from Zinkhan this semester.
Little more than a week ago, Zinkhan surprised students by saying he would give them their grades for the semester and they wouldn't have to take the previously announced final exam if they were satisfied with that grade.
Gurley said he was shocked when he heard about the shooting. Zinkhan was clearly intelligent and interested in the subject, but was disorganized and seemed "a little off" and unapproachable, he said.
Police were searching Sunday for the 57-year-old marketing professor in the shooting deaths of his wife and two men outside a community theater in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta. Zinkhan was last seen dropping his two young children off at his neighbor's house after the Saturday afternoon shootings, saying there was an emergency and he needed someone to watch them.
"If you gave me a list of 100 people who might crack in this way, I would have put him at the bottom of that list," said Michael R. Hyman, a marketing professor at New Mexico State University. Hyman knew Zinkhan in the mid-1980s when both were associate professors at the University of Houston.
Zinkhan was highly regarded for his abilities and his intellect, enjoyed writing poetry and was a bit of a history buff, Hyman said. He was collegial and never showed violent tendencies or even raised his voice.
Hyman and a former doctoral student of Zinkhan's at the University of Houston, Richard Tansey, both said they were shocked to hear Zinkhan was accused of shooting anyone, and said they never knew him to use or talk about guns.
Killed Saturday afternoon were Zinkhan's wife, Marie Bruce, 47, Tom Tanner, 40, and Ben Teague, 63. All were members of a local theater group, and the shooting occurred during a reunion for past and present group members. Two others were injured by shrapnel.
Josh Gurley, 21, is a junior at the school and was taking a marketing class from Zinkhan this semester.
Little more than a week ago, Zinkhan surprised students by saying he would give them their grades for the semester and they wouldn't have to take the previously announced final exam if they were satisfied with that grade.
Gurley said he was shocked when he heard about the shooting. Zinkhan was clearly intelligent and interested in the subject, but was disorganized and seemed "a little off" and unapproachable, he said.
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