University of West Georgia professor, Richard Sigma, 47, is charged with murder of freshman, 18, after firing multiple shots into her car, following argument with man at pizza restaurant near the campus
University of West Georgia professor, 47, is charged with murder of student after firing multiple shots into her parked car as she sat in a parking lot
Business lecturer Richard Sigman shot and killed 18-year-old Anna Jones in Carrol County, GA on Saturday night
Sigman is currently being held in the Carroll County jail on seven charges; murder, three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a crimeÂ
Shooting transpired early Saturday in Carrollton, roughly 45 miles from Atlanta
Tragedy started after Sigman got into a row with another patron at a pizzeria, a mile and half from the campus grounds
He was kicked out after he threatened the other man with a concealed weapon
Sigman reportedly stormed out and went to a parking lot half a mile from the restaurant and unloaded his pistol into a parked car,
Jones was sitting in the vehicle and one of his bullets struck Jones, an incoming freshman at his college
The recent high school graduate was grievously wounded and died later that day
Sigman‘s contract was terminated immediately by the university

The University of West Georgia professor who shot dead a student in an as-yet unexplained attack over the weekend previously posed with an assault rifle for photos plastered over his Facebook page.Â
Richard Sigman, 47, is in custody on seven felony charges including murder for the death of 18-year-old Anna Jones, a freshman who was due to start classes before she was gunned down on Saturday night during an evening out with friends in Carrollton, Georgia.
Police say he shot into the vehicle Jones was in after getting into an argument at Leopoldo’s, a nearby pizzeria.Â
Much of the incident remains unexplained, including who Sigman argued with, or whether that person is any way connected to Anna.Â

The shooter Richard Sigman, is a business lecturer at the University of West Georgia,. Jones, the teenage victim who had recently graduated from local Mount Zion high school weeks before her tragic death, was enrolled as an incoming freshman at the University of West Georgia.
Sigman got into an argument with a man inside Leopoldo’s Pizza Napoletana in Adamson Square, Carrollton late on Friday night but spilled out into the parking lot.
After Sigman threatened to shoot his adversary with a handgun he had concealed on his person,
fearing for his life, the man alerted security guards at the restaurant around midnight, who understood Sigman was carrying a concealed weapon and asked him to leave.Â
Incensed, the Sigman allegedly, stormed out then walked to a parking deck at a courthouse about a block away from the restaurant, and inexplicably opened fire on the parked car. Anna Jones was sitting in the vehicle.
The shooters motivation is unclear, neither is it clear that Jones was connected with the male involved in the row with Sigman. She was rushed to hospital by friends but was pronounced dead on arrival.Â


It is still unclear why Sigman unloaded his pistol into a parked vehicle, but Carrollton Police Department officers arrested the professor in the early hours of Saturday morning and later confirmed he had been charged with murder, aggravated assault in connection and illegal possession of a firearm. **
The shooting happened just a mile and a half from campus grounds. The school immediately terminated Sigman’s contract.
A statement issued by University President Brendan Kelly confirmed the termination:Â ‘The University of West Georgia has learned of the loss of one of its students, Anna Jones, who passed away following an off-campus incident earlier today.Â
‘UWG has terminated the employment of Richard Sigman and continues to work with the city of Carrollton Police Department, which leads this ongoing investigation.’

The university confirmed Saturday that Jones was a student at the university poised to start class later this month.
An initial statement by the school’s president, Dr. Brendan Kelly, on social media said, ‘On behalf of the university, we wish to convey our deepest condolences to Anna´s family and many friends.’Â
‘We know this news is difficult to process and affects many members of our university community,’ it went on. ‘We ask that you keep Anna’s family, friends, and all who have been touched by this tragedy in your thoughts during this tremendously difficult time.’Â
The University added that Sigman – was fired after the charges were brought against him.Â



A GoFundMe, created by the tragic victim’s friends and family, left a touching tribute to the slain freshman.
Jones, who had been a resident of nearby Jonesboro and a graduate of the Mount Zion high school, was remembered by family and friends as ‘a beautiful, sweet soul [whose] smile would light up a room’.
The girl’s mourning parents wrote:Â ‘As with most parents, you never think that you will need life insurance for your child.
‘This was a devastating and senseless crime that left a lot of hearts broken, a community mourning, and a family grieving.Â

‘If you could, please help in any way,’ family friend Jennifer Leperd said in a description for the page, which has raised $18,000 for her funeral.Â
Among those who donated to the page were women who previously hired Anna as a babysitter.Â
‘I can’t thank this girl enough for loving and caring for my baby boy like he was her own at the daycare.Â
‘Almost every single afternoon when I came to pick him up he would be sitting in her lap holding her with the biggest smiles on both of their faces.Â
‘They had so much love for each other,’ one said.Â
Sigman is expected to make his first court appearance this afternoon.Â
He is currently being held in the Carroll County jail on seven charges; murder, three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime. Â
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