N.C. Christian University Student Says Shooting Was 'in Self Defense'
A student at Mid-Atlantic Christian University confessed to fatally shooting a fellow student Sunday but claims he acted in self-defense.
According a search warrant, Christopher David Amyx, 23, told Elizabeth City Police Detective Jerry Boyce that he "had been receiving numerous threats from unidentified sources" prior to the on-campus shooting of Jonathan Schipper.
What circumstances led Amyx into the victim's room, however, was not documented. What is known is that Amyx told another student at the college that he had shot Schipper and to call 911.
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Police soon after found Schipper dead in his room with a gunshot wound to the head. Amyx, meanwhile, was found in the hallway of the dorm with a semi-automatic gun on the floor.
Amyx, who serves as a part-time police officer for the town of Pinetops, N.C., 100 miles away, has since been placed in custody but has not yet charged of anything. The Pinetops Police Department, with which Amyx served since May, has placed him on administrative leave.
The school, meanwhile, has scheduled a memorial prayer service to be held Thursday evening on campus. The service will call the community to pray "for the families most deeply affected by the tragedy of Oct. 3, for the Mid-Atlantic family, and for peace rather than violence."
"Our hearts are heavy with the death of a beloved student, Jonathan Schipper of Havelock, NC. We fly our flags at half-staff to honor him," the school announced in a public statement.
"We ask that everyone pray for the families that are most deeply touched by this tragedy. God is the one who can heal these families," it added without any reference to Amyx.
Mid-Atlantic Christian University, formerly Roanoke Bible College, is a conservative Christian institution with less than 200 students. The school's goal is to train evangelists, regardless of what line of work they choose to study for.
