By Wesley Lowery
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio University police found 12 guns at the house of a laid-off employee who had threatened to shoot up two university buildings, authorities said yesterday.
Mark Hopton, 48, formerly OU’s assistant vice president for business services, was charged Wednesday with making terrorist threats after reportedly telling a current employee he was “angry enough to shoot people in the HDL Center and HR Center.”
The comments, which police said he made via telephone Wednesday afternoon, were reported around 4 p.m. that day and prompted lockdowns of both buildings.
The buildings house the university’s human resources, information technology, accounts payable and purchasing departments. The Ohio Bureau of Employment Services and Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles also have offices there.
Ohio University police then obtained search and arrest warrants.
“The threats appeared to be serious, and he told his co-worker that he had loaded guns,” OU Police Chief Andrew Powers said.
Athens County deputy sheriffs accompanied university police to Hopton’s residence in Millfield, where he was arrested about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday without incident.
Officers seized 11 shotguns and a handgun, ammunition and cleaning supplies, according to court documents.
The charge is a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Hopton was released after posting $10,000 bail yesterday morning and was ordered to avoid contact with any school employee. University police officers remained posted at the two buildings yesterday.
Hopton came to OU in 2008, overseeing joint purchasing efforts among university departments. He earned $159,776 a year.
He was one of 57 employees laid off in June as part of university-wide budget cuts.
Hopton could not be reached for comment.
Copyright 2010 The Columbus Dispatch