COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man has been arrested in the shooting death early Sunday of an Ohio State University student after an altercation outside an off-campus frat house, according to reports.
Columbus police said they found the victim Chase Meola, 23, in an alley next to the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.
Officers responded shortly after 2 a.m. for the report of a shooting.
Columbus police Sgt. James Fuqua said police located Kinte Mitchell Jr., 18, several blocks away. Mitchell was positively identified as the shooter, according to court documents, and has been charged with murder in Meola’s death, The Columbus Dispatch reported. There is no indication Mitchell is enrolled at Ohio State, Fuqua said.
“Reports indicate that individuals were asked to leave a house party in the area, and an altercation occurred outside,” they said.
The Ohio State University community is in mourning, and our deepest condolences and support go to the family and friends of Chase Meola. Students in need of support are encouraged to access counseling services by calling 614-292-5766. https://t.co/17j9UW5wp6
— Ohio State News (@OhioStateNews) October 11, 2020
Since Mitchell was not a student at OSU, police were trying to determine how he wound up at the party.
Investigators were working the crime scene in the parking lot surrounding the Phi Kappa Psi house Sunday morning. At least five yellow evidence markers were visible in the parking lot, surrounded by empty plastic cups and crushed beer cans.
Phi Kappa Psi had its student organization status revoked in June 2018 and is on disciplinary suspension through August 2022 due to hazing and endangering behavior, according to The Lantern, the Ohio State student newspaper.
“The Ohio State University community is in mourning, and our deepest condolences and support go to the family and friends of Chase,” campus police said in a statement.
Meola was a fifth-year marketing major from Mahwah, N.J.
He was a high school football standout who aspired to work on Wall Street, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
“Wall Street is where I would like to see myself in the near future,” he said on LinkedIn, according to the paper. “Ohio State was a great place for me learn and perfect all my skills.”