Johanna Justin Jinich shot several times, suspect Stephen Morgan (with video)

Johanna Justin Jinich shot several times, suspect Stephen Morgan (with video). A disguised gunman fatally shot a Wesleyan University student working in a bookstore cafe near the campus on Wednesday, then fled into the bustling downtown area.

Police officers with dogs and armed with assault rifles swarmed nearby streets looking for a suspect and asked Wesleyan students to stay indoors. But after reassuring residents later in the afternoon that there was no threat to the public, the police issued new warnings Wednesday night, telling residents and students to stay inside and be “extra vigilant.”

The victim was identified as Johanna Justin-Jinich of Timnath, Colo. She was working at the Red and Black Cafe inside Broad Street Books when the gunman shot her several times. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Johanna Justin Jinich

The police released a surveillance photo taken inside the bookstore of a thin, bearded man whom they described as armed and dangerous. Late Wednesday, the university’s Web site reported that the police had identified the suspect as Stephen Morgan.

Lt. Margaret Liseo of the Middletown Police Department said that evidence found at the cafe had “heightened our level of concern,” but she would not say what the evidence was.

“We just want to get the message out there to be extra vigilant,” she said. “This individual is armed and dangerous, and we want to be sure public safety is our top priority.”

Ms. Justin-Jinich was to have graduated next year from Wesleyan, a private liberal arts school in central Connecticut with about 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Numerous newspaper and television reports said the suspect was a former boyfriend of Ms. Justin-Jinich’s, but Lieutenant Liseo said she could not confirm the relationship.

In a statement, the university’s president, Michael S. Roth, said: “This is a devastating loss for Johanna’s family, friends, and for the entire Wesleyan community. Our hearts go out to all those who grieve for Johanna, and we hope all can find comfort in the support of friends, teachers and classmates.”

Authorities said there were several witnesses to the shooting, and the police found a wig used by the gunman and a weapon in the bookstore. Lieutenant Liseo said that authorities had not confirmed that it was the weapon used in the shooting.

Stephen Morgan is seen in this May 2007 photo released by the Middletown Police Department. (COURTESY OF MIDDLETOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT)

Watch Wesleyan search continues video:



Watch Wesleyan Homicide Press Conference HERE . . . .