POTSDAM, N.Y. – A student at an upstate New York college was shot and killed on a street just off campus by a suspect who reportedly had no affiliation with the university, according to authorities.
Elizabeth Howell, 21, was identified as the murder victim. She died Friday after being gunned down on the side of College Park Road, New York State Police said.
“On February 18, 2022, at about 5:51 p.m., Potsdam Police responded to a report of an unconscious female on College Park Road in the village,” NYSP said in the press release. “Responding patrols located the 21-year-old victim lying on the side of the road with gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Canton Potsdam Hospital where she was pronounced deceased.”
Howell was a music education student at State University New York (SUNY) at Potsdam, the New York Post reported.
The suspect accused of the homicide is 31-year-old Michael J. Snow. He was arrested Saturday and booked for second degree murder, police said.
Michael J. Snow was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. (Twitter/ Brian Dwyer, Spectrum News 1 via New York Post)
It wasn’t immediately clear if Snow and Howell were acquainted. However, the university said Snow had “no affiliation with the College, either as a student, employee or graduate.”
The school noted, “Beth was a cellist who performed with the Crane Symphony Orchestra, and she was an aspiring educator with a bright future ahead of her. No words can express the sadness we share as a campus community following this tragic loss.”
Beth was a cellist who performed with the Crane Symphony Orchestra, and she was an aspiring educator with a bright future ahead of her. No words can express the sadness we share as a campus community following this tragic loss.
— SUNY Potsdam (@sunypotsdam1816) February 19, 2022
Howell is from Patterson in Putnam County. The cellist was scheduled to graduate this year, the university added, according to the Post.
SUNY Potsdam canceled classes for Monday. They have also canceled or rescheduled various activities as the campus grieves Howell’s death, designating the concert hall at the school’s Crane School of Music as a memorial space.
Elizabeth Howell was a music education student at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and was set to graduate this year. (Facebook)
Snow was arraigned in the town of Potsdam court and subsequently remanded to St. Lawrence County Jail without bail.
Potsdam is in St. Lawrence County, 30 miles from the US border with Canada.
