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Claudia Brough shares a tribute to her son, Colin Brough, with Coconino Superior Court Judge Dan Slayton, Feb. 11. Brady Wheeler | The Lumberjack
Cheng, Delta Chi, victims respond to Jones’ sentencing Brady Wheeler
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ess than five years ago, NAU students woke up on a Friday morning to a frenzy of missed calls and texts from their family. As the campus approached the early hours before sunrise, Oct. 9, 2015, the sound of gunshots rang through the silent night sky, eliciting fear of a mass shooting. Minutes later, four students were treated for gunshot wounds outside of the Mountain View student-housing complex, as police exhausted the possibility of multiple gunmen. Then-freshman Steven Jones identified himself as the sole perpetrator to the police. Senior Colin Brough died at the scene. Former student Reid Kemp, who graduated spring 2018, still remembers what it was like to be on campus during the day that followed the shooting. Both he and his roommate received concerned messages from their parents. “[Parents] were just worried,” Kemp said. “What scared people the most is that it technically happened on campus.” Years separate the NAU community from the incident — years that included hearings,
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witness accounts, victim testimonies and a mistrial — but grief and confusion still ripple through the city. Coconino Superior Court Judge Dan Slayton, who sentenced Jones to six years in prison on Tuesday, Feb. 11, said the case “has been troubling for our community, for citizens of the state, even for the nation.” Following a plea agreement between prosecutors and Jones last month, Jones faced between five and 10 years of prison time prior to the sentencing. Slayton cited Jones’ lack of criminal history, cooperation with police and age as mitigating factors, which led to his decision. Jones was sentenced to six years on one count of manslaughter and received five years each on three counts of aggravated assault. Jones can serve the sentences concurrently, which amounts to six total years in prison based on his longest sentence. Colin Brough’s father, Doug Brough,
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said that even after Jones’ guilty plea, he “is still getting the benefit of the doubt” and the process has been “one-sided,” according to the Associated Press. “It doesn’t bring my son back,” Doug Brough said of the sentencing. While both sides argued at the sentencing over whether fraternity involvement played a factor in the incident, Doug Brough spoke highly of his son’s fraternity, Delta Chi, and the support his family has received from the brothers. All four victims were members of the fraternity. Delta Chi President Sean Hamilton prepared a statement for The Lumberjack on behalf of the fraternity. “We continue to mourn this senseless violence against our brothers,” Hamilton said. “Our focus now is on continuing to build ties across Greek life and within the larger Flagstaff community.”
“We continue to mourn this senseless violence against our brothers.” – sean hamilton, delta chi president
Rita Cheng was just beginning her second year as NAU’s president when the student body woke up to the news of the campus shooting. Classes remained in session that day following the incident, as Cheng assured students they were safe. Cheng did acknowledge that Oct. 9, 2015, was “not going to be a normal day at NAU.” After Jones’ sentencing, Cheng offered her thoughts to the family and friends of the victims. “This has been a tragedy for all the individuals involved, as well as the NAU and Flagstaff communities,” Cheng said. “While the criminal case may be over, we recognize that the families and friends of everyone involved will grieve for years to come. They will continue to be in my thoughts.” Gun violence is an anomaly at NAU. The Jones shooting was the first deadly shooting at the university, which was founded in 1899. Prosecution attorney Lou Diesel, a longtime practitioner of law in northern Arizona, noted the unprecedented nature of the case. “We don’t have mass shootings in Flagstaff,” Diesel said. “This doesn’t happen here.”
