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UNIVERSITY PRESS

Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Fourth Avenue shooting was FAU’s fourth

UPDATE (11/3 1:45 p.m.) The earliest known shooting at FAU was in 1986, not 2006, as previously reported.

Yesterday wasn’t the first time someone pulled a trigger on, or near, the Boca campus.

Prior to the Oct. 30 4th Ave shooting, which was a block from FAU, the university had three others: One in 2008, another in 2006, and the earliest known ones in 1986.

THE 1986 SHOT

In 1986, a 19-year old FAU student was shot by her ex-boyfriend outside of her dorm.

Christy Bock and 21-year old Troy Kroupa had apparently been arguing when Kroupa opened fire with a .22 caliber AR-7 Explorer rifle, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Kroupa, who had played football for the Coconut Creek High School Cougars, shot Bock in the back of the head, and then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.

Bock did not sustain long-term injuries from the gunshot wound.

The incident occurred in front of Dorm 21, also known as Timucua Hall. It was torn down in 2005, according to the Palm Beach Post. An FAU Housing official confirmed that the  Glades Park Tower dorm was built on top of it.

The Post’s article also mentioned that Algonquin Hall, now FAU’s oldest dorm, was supposed to be torn down the following year.

THE 2006 SHOT

On Feb. 8, 2006, the UP reported that then-business major Zachary Carroll became the first FAU student shot on campus. He was shot after he lunged at an FAU cop.

After midnight on Feb. 8, Carroll was seen screaming and cursing outside of Indian River Towers. According to an eyewitness, the 6’2”, 300-pound rugby player used his elbow to smash a Toyota Corolla’s driver-side window. He then tore off the car’s driver-side mirror. Shortly afterwards, two female FAU cops showed up.

They told him to put his hands in the air. Instead, Carroll spat at them and lunged at officer Mary Douglas. She dodged, but he lunged again. This time, she fired a shot at him. He kept advancing and she shot him two more times before he dropped to the ground.

He was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he made a recovery. The next week, he apologized to then-Vice President of Student Affairs Emanuel Newsome for his behavior.

He was charged with resisting arrest. His punishment: An 18-month alcohol intervention program, 100 hours of community service and damage restitution to the car he smashed. Douglas was temporarily suspended, but returned to duty.

After the incident, FAUPD eventually added tasers to their arsenal.

THE 2008 SHOT

The second shooting happened during finals week in 2008. At 1 a.m. on April 30, a non-FAU student fired three shots in a University Village Apartments apartment. Omar Everton Graham Jr., a 23-year-old Johnson & Wales (J&W) student, was attending a campus party, when he got into an argument with another man over a red hat, the UP reported.

During the argument, Graham pulled out a gun and fired three shots into the room’s wall and couch.

FAUPD arrived on the scene five minutes later, but Graham was gone. No one was allowed out of their rooms until the next afternoon, when police arrested Graham at J&W.

On Mar. 27 2009, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail, five years of probation and a $15,000 fine to pay to FAU.

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  • E

    EileenNov 2, 2011 at 1:04 am

    I was at FAU in 1986 and a girl was shot by her boyfriend with a 22 caliber gun right outside dorm 21. Which is probably the equivalent of Indian River Towers.

    Reply
  • C

    Casa Del Rio ResidentOct 31, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    Casa Del Rio is *not* the apartment complex in question. The title of this article is wrong. The apartments at that location are called the “Versailles Villa” according to their unlit sign.

    No doubt the author of this article was confused because Casa Del Rio is a large set of apartments whose prominent, lit sign on 20th Street make it appear as if all of the apartments on that corner are part of Casa Del Rio, but they’re not.

    Reply