Police arrest gunman suspected of targeting Jews in U.S. town

Police in Connecticut on Fiday took into custody the suspect in the slaying of a Jewish Wesleyan University student in a university bookstore.

A Meriden police spokesman says 29-year-old Stephen P. Morgan was arrested and turned over to authorities in Middletown, who are investigating Wednesday's fatal shooting of 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich.

Authorities say Morgan threatened to kill other students and Jews.

Police Thursday urged students at Wesleyan University to stay locked in their dorms, and the city's only synagogue was shut down, as authorities said Morgan had threatened Justin-Jinich years before, and may now be targeting the school and Jews.

Police urged university students and local Jewish leaders to be "extra vigilant" while they sought 29-year-old Stephen Morgan. Investigators believe that Morgan disguised himself with a wig and shot 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich, a junior from Timnath, Colo., while she was working at a cafe inside Broad Street Books, a popular bookstore.

A judge signed a warrant Thursday afternoon charging Morgan with murder, and set his bail at $10 million.

Justin-Jinich was Jewish. Evidence "suggests that Mr. Morgan may be focused on the Wesleyan University campus as well as the Jewish community," Middletown Police Chief Lynn Baldoni said at a news conference Thursday. "Investigators have been in contact with Wesleyan University and leaders of the Jewish community, urging both to be extra vigilant."

Local police would only say that the shooting was not a random act, but a New York City police report shows that Morgan allegedly threatened Justin-Jinich in 2007, when they were attending New York University.

Justin-Jinich filed a harassment complaint on July 10, 2007, claiming that he was calling her repeatedly and sent her insulting e-mails for at least a week.

"You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any (expletive) criticism, Johanna," one of the e-mails said, according to the police report.

Morgan had apparently already left New York for Boston at the time the complaint was filed and was not arrested.

Police would not say why they believe Morgan may target the university or Jews.

Justin-Jinich's former stepmother, Karin Radcliffe, said the girl came from a Jewish family. "She was just a wonderful kid, very smart, very loving," Radcliffe said

Middletown's only synagogue, Congregation Adath Israel, is across the street from the bookstore. It was closed Thursday and congregants were considering canceling Sabbath services Friday night and Saturday.

Synagogue president Eliot Meadow said police didn't offer details about the threats.

"It was a no-brainer to close the building until we knew more information," he said. "We didn't know if he was planning something. We're hoping that they catch him before tomorrow night."

Wesleyan officials locked campus immediately after Wednesday's shooting.

A panel that investigated the April 16, 2007, massacre at Virginia Tech concluded that university officials erred by not acting more quickly to warn students because police prematurely concluded that the first two victims were shot as a result of a domestic dispute.