Seattle Pacific University Shooter Sentenced to 112 Years

The shooting killed one student and injured three others.

February 22, 2017 CS Staff

Seattle Pacific University Shooter Sentenced to 112 Years

Aaron Ybarra has struggled with Schizophrenia and developmental delays throughout his life.

The gunman responsible for the fatal 2014 school shooting at Seattle Pacific University was sentenced to 112 years in prison on Friday.

Aaron Ybarra had used an insanity defense during his trial but was convicted by a jury of all charges, including first degree murder, in November, reports seattlepi.com.

Defense attorney Ramona Brandes, who spent the trial detailing Ybarra’s mental health struggles, brain damage, substance abuse problems and developmental delays, had pushed for a smaller sentence of 90 years. Brandes also criticized the state’s mental health system.

Judge Jim Rodgers agreed that Seattle’s mental health care provided inadequate treatment, but said he believed Ybarra made a conscious decision to stop taking his medication. He also noted that Ybarra had expressed admiration for the Columbine shooters and conducted months of planning before the shooting.

Jurors concluded that Ybarra’s journal entries showed he understood the consequences of his actions.

Ybarra brought a shotgun onto the small Christian university’s campus on June 5, 2014 and shot 19-year-old student Paul Lee outside of Otto Miller Hall. He then entered the building and pointed his gun at one student, who ran away, before shooting another student, Sarah Williams, in the chest.

Student Jon Meis, who was working in the building’s student security office at the time, used his personal pepper spray to hit Ybarra in the face twice while the gunman was reloading. Meis was able to take Ybarra’s gun and put it in the student security office.

Returning from the office, Meis saw Ybarra reaching into his pocket and restrained him as a knife fell to the ground. Ybarra reportedly told Meis he planned to cut his own throat. Police arrived shortly after. You can watch the surveillance video of the incident below.

Paul Lee died from his injuries while two other students were injured in the attack.

After the trial, Meis’s mother was one of the only people to give a public statement.

“This is an act of terror that affected hundreds of parents, students and community members of Seattle, nationally and internationally,” she said. “Our worldview of safety had been shattered and our lives will never be the same.”

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