The woman shot dead at North Lake College in Texas yesterday had been stalked by the man who killed her, who later turned the gun on himself.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Adrian Victor Torres shot Janeera Nickol Gonzalez, 20, three times in the head at close range in a campus common area on Wednesday, killing her. The murder suspect was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a shower stall.
Lucia Gonzalez, the victim’s mother, told the newspaper that Torres had been obsessed with and stalking her daughter, who had never been in a relationship with him — they were not even friends. The mother said that Janeera did not believe Torres posed a threat.
“He had been stalking her for quite a while, but she didn’t make anything of it,” Gonzalez said.
Witnesses reportedly told the family that Torres entered the building late Wednesday morning and walked right up to Gonzalez, who was sitting in a chair, facing him.
“You know who I am, and you know why I am here,” he said before shooting her.
Nasrin Nanbakhsh, a math tutor at the university, said she was walking by when the shooting took place.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Nanbakhsh told the Dallas Morning News. “No screaming, no nothing.”
North Lake College will remain closed until Monday.
Dallas County Community College District Chancellor Joe May addressed the tragedy in a media statement obtained by Dallas Morning News.
“Now we must move forward as a community to console each other and to help one another during this difficult time,” he said.