Police Continue Search for UGA Prof

Authorities from Georgia to Texas had little to go on Sunday as they searched for a University of Georgia professor suspected of shooting his ex-wife and two other men to death outside a theater near campus.

Authorities were monitoring airports in case Zinkhan tried to head to Amsterdam, where he owns a home, or Austin, Texas, where he has relatives.

Police said the shooting happened before noon at the Athens Community Theatre, located at 115 Grady, off of Prince Avenue in Athens. Witnesses said there was a fund raising event at the theater Saturday morning associated with a Sherlock Holmes production that was interupted by gunfire.

Investigators have identified the victims as Tom Tanner, Ben Teague and Zinkhan's wife, Marie Bruce.

Athens-Clarke County Police Maj. Mike Shockley said three others were injured, "possibly by ricocheting bullets," he said.

Bruce was a family law professor. She is president of the Town and Gown group. She is not affiliated with UGA. Tanner has a PHD in economics at Clemson University. Teague worked as an interpreter.

Town and Gown Players are not affiliated with the university. It is the oldest community theatre in Georgia – 56 years.

A UGA student called FOX 5 and said an text alert has gone out to 25,000 students and faculty through campus communications to beware of a professor George M. Zinkhan driving a red vehicle.

Police said current information is that he was last seen wearing a polo shirt, blue shorts, and a backpack.

UGA officials said the campus was not put on lockdown.

In a statement, University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams said the university community was shocked and saddened.

"Our first thoughts are for safety of the university community and for prompt apprehension of the person responsible," Adams said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those who have been affected."

Zinkhan, who has a doctorate from the University of Michigan, is a professor at UGA's Terry College of Business and had no disciplinary problems, university spokesman Pete Konenkamp said. Before joining the school in the 1990s, he held academic positions at the universities of Houston and Pittsburgh.

"His track record is impeccable as far as his teaching credentials," Konenkamp said. "He's a respected professor on campus."

 

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