A Ligonier Township man is awaiting a preliminary hearing in Washington County after police arrested him Sunday for allegedly taking a loaded gun onto a college campus and threatening to kill a student.
Aaron J. Ometz, 21, who lives off Route 271, went onto the California University of Pennsylvania campus at about 9:20 p.m. Sunday "hunting for a specific person" that he wanted to hurt — his girlfriend's former boyfriend, said university police Chief James Hansen.
Knowing only the first name of Kevin Zebley, of Pittsburgh, Ometz went to the lobby of a residential hall and asked if Zebley lived there, police said.
"The desk attendant looked at the roster and had only one name," Hansen said. The attendant gave Ometz the student's phone number, which Ometz called from the lobby phone.
The attendant heard Ometz threaten to kill Zebley, police said. He left through the emergency exit, setting off the alarm. Outside the building, he punched student Phillip Jordan in the head.
University police located Ometz about a block away, driving in his Toyota pickup truck. After he got out of the truck, police noticed he was wearing a holster that held a .45-caliber pistol.
"He probably had it all over the campus," Hansen said. "This was not somebody randomly coming on the campus. He was here for a specific reason."
On his way to Zebley's dormitory, Ometz punched student Patrick Jones in the chest. He also approached Geoff Hoffman in the student center and threatened to kill him. Police said Ometz did not know any of the victims. No one was seriously injured.
Ometz faces charges of simple assault, terroristic threats, harassment by communication, disorderly conduct, carrying a firearm without a license and driving with a suspended license.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled Nov. 21 before District Justice William Pelkey, of California. Ometz was placed in the county jail on $10,000 bond.
