Posted: 16 Feb 2010 09:46 AM PST

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(CNN) -- Previously missing police records on the 1986 shooting death of the brother of Alabama professor Amy Bishop -- accused of gunning down her colleagues last week -- have been found, and investigators said Tuesday they back a state police report that deemed the shooting an accident.

The Braintree, Massachusetts, police records show that police in 1986 believed they had probable cause to arrest Bishop on some charges in her brother's death. However, no charges were filed in that case.

Bishop is charged with capital murder and three counts of attempted murder in a Friday shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where she was a biology professor. She is eligible for the death penalty in Alabama.

Authorities have said Bishop shot her brother, Seth, at the family's Braintree home in December 1986. A state police report on the 1986 incident was released to the news media over the weekend, but Braintree police said their records of the shooting were missing until Tuesday.

Probable cause existed in 1986 for charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the office of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, District Attorney William Keating.

The statute of limitations has passed on those charges, as well as on a potential charge of "wanton and reckless conduct," the lowest standard for manslaughter in Massachusetts, according to the statement.

The recovered documents don't contradict previously released information about the account of the siblings' mother, who told police she witnessed the shooting and said it was accidental, according to the statement.

The statement did not explain how the records came to be missing or when or how they were found.

The December 6, 1986, shooting of Seth Bishop came under renewed scrutiny after Friday's shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Authorities said Bishop, also known as Amy Bishop Anderson, was attending a faculty meeting in a university building when she shot six colleagues. She was arrested as she was leaving the building.

On Saturday, Braintree Police Chief Paul Frazier told reporters that the department's records pertaining to the 1986 shooting were missing. Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan announced Sunday a search for the documents had been started, which resulted in the find announced Tuesday.

Describing the 1986 shooting on Saturday, Frazier said that Bishop had fled her home with a gun after she shot her brother and had unsuccessfully attempted to pull over a driver in a vehicle. The newly recovered documents do not refer to an incident involving a vehicle.

Frazier also said that police spotted Bishop and arrested her nearby, but she eventually was released.

"I cannot tell you what the thought process was behind our releasing her at the time," he said Saturday about the decades-old case.

A 1987 state police report released over the weekend cited interviews between police and Bishop's parents, in which her mother said the gun discharged accidentally. Braintree police told state police investigators that "indications were that Amy Bishop had been attempting to manipulate the shotgun and had subsequently brought the gun downstairs in an attempt to gain assistance from her mother in disarming the weapon" when it went off, shooting her brother in the chest.

Read the report on the 1986 shooting

But Frazier said Saturday that Officer Ronald Solimini, who was involved in the case 23 years ago, said that Bishop had shot her brother during an argument.

John Polio, who was Braintree police chief in 1986, also said he recalled reports of an argument between the two.

But neither the 1987 state police report nor the newly found documents detail a disagreement between the siblings.

The state report references a disagreement between Bishop and her father, who was not home when the shooting occurred.

In an uncovered December 6, 1986, record, then-police Lt. James Sullivan wrote that Bishop "stated earlier there had been a family 'spat' and she had gone to her room. (Unknown at this time how much earlier this family 'spat' had been)."

Police decided not to file charges, the December 6, 1986, report by Sullivan indicates, because "with the current information it would appear to be an accidental shooting."

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Tenure seems key in UAH shooting, but slain professor backed Amy Bishop - Everything Alabama Blog

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 05:00 AM PST

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By Lee Roop

February 16, 2010, 7:00AM

Dave Dieter / The Huntsville TimesUAH President David Williams leaves a press conference the day after the UAH shooting.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The UAH tenure process that rejected Dr. Amy Bishop began with a split vote by the same biology faculty she allegedly opened fire on last Friday, university sources say.

But Bishop, a Harvard Ph.D who had been openly angry about being denied tenure, allegedly killed at least one person who did support her bid for the lifetime job guarantee that tenure represents. It's a fact that further confuses the question of how big a role tenure may have played.

Biology Department Chairman Dr. Gopi Podila, who was killed in Friday's attack, supported Bishop when she came up for tenure in 2008, according to Dr. William Setzer, chairman of the UAH chemistry department.

Bishop was hired by UAH in 2003.

Setzer said he asked Podila why Bishop was denied tenure, and Podila told him that he supported her, but a majority of the biology faculty did not.

The faculty vote is the first step in a year-long process that begins when a tenure candidate submits a "dossier" showing accomplishments in the three key areas of teaching; research or creative achievements; and service to the university, the profession and the public.

Some sources say Bishop's research output was at least somewhat limited, even though she had at least one big success. UAH President Dr. David Williams cited her work in developing a cell incubator to replace the petri dish in a Huntsville Times' column.

"The fact that a professor has had a significant research accomplishment is one thing," Williams said Monday. "A dossier that recommends tenure is another. Multiple factors go into that decision."

The faculty's opinion must be recorded in a report signed by all eligible members that includes positive and negative factors that influenced the decision. That report must include a vote, according to the UAH faculty handbook.

The next step is review by a tenure advisory committee named by the dean of the College of Science and the chairs of all its departments. No biology faculty could serve on that committee.

That college-level committee also votes and sends its recommendation to the dean. UAH has not said how this committee or any other voted.

Next, the dean of the College of Science makes his own recommendation to another review board, this one university-wide. That board makes a final recommendation to the university's top academic officer, the provost.

The final decision on tenure is made by the provost, in this case Dr. Vistasp Karbhari, who came to UAH in 2008 at about the time the process began for Bishop.

Somewhere in the reviews, Bishop's dossier failed to demonstrate sufficient accomplishments in teaching, research or service. Kharbari either accepted a recommendation to deny tenure or decided himself. He has not spoken on the issue.

Bishop appealed and after another review, Kharbari came to the same decision. UAH president Williams then reviewed the process.

"That appeal ended in November when again she was informed that the process had been appropriate, that the dossier did not warrant tenure," Williams said.

Bishop's husband, Jim Anderson, said Monday that Bishop won her appeal at one level based on "inadequate review" of the dossier, but that Kharbari "turned that down."

A biology faculty member who did not want to be named defended Kharbari Monday, saying he followed the procedure and was "very fair to Amy."

"Her plans were to continue politicking, appealing to the trustees," Anderson said, "to try to get something concrete by the end of May."

She was committed to staying at UAH, her husband said.

"Not getting tenure is a major blow to any professor, but it happens," Williams said Monday. "It happens on a regular basis at universities throughout the nation because of the importance of the process. We are making a commitment to that professor of permanent employment here. ... That being said, there are many opportunities jobs in industry, in research organizations, at different levels of the education process. It stops one track; it opens others."

The percentage of professors with tenure at Alabama's major universities has fallen over the past five years as schools have tightened budgets and sought ways to keep flexibility in their faculty.

In 2004, professors with tenure at the University of Alabama's main campus in Tuscaloosa made up 65 percent of the faculty; by 2008, the most recent year reported, that number had fallen to 58 percent.

At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, it slipped from 45 percent to 41 percent, and at Auburn University, from 70 percent to 67 percent.

But the sharpest decrease - from 60 percent in 2004 to 51 percent in 2008 - came at the UAH.

Birmingham News Staff Writer Hannah Wolfson contributed to this report.

Read all our coverage of the UAH shooting.

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3 dead in University of Ala. shooting - Washington Examiner

Posted: 12 Feb 2010 03:42 PM PST

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HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — A biology professor at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus was charged with murder late Friday in the shooting deaths of three fellow biology professors at the campus.

Authorities say Amy Bishop, an instructor and researcher at the university, opened fire during an afternoon faculty meeting, killing the three and injuring three other school employees. Bishop has been charged with one count of capital murder, which means she could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bishop was taken Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and could be heard saying, "It didn't happen. There's no way .... they are still alive."

Police said they were also interviewing a man as "a person of interest."

University spokesman Ray Garner said the three killed were Gopi K. Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and two other faculty members, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson.

Two others are in critical condition, and a third who was wounded was upgraded to fair condition. The injured were identified as department members Luis Cruz-Vera, who was listed in fair condition and Joseph Leahy, in critical condition in intensive care, and staffer Stephanie Monticello, also in critical condition in intensive care.

No students were harmed in the shooting.

Sammie Lee Davis said his wife, Maria Ragland Davis, was a researcher who had tenure at the university.

In a brief phone interview, he said he was told his wife was at a meeting to discuss the tenure status of another faculty member who got angry and started shooting.

He said his wife had mentioned the shooter before, describing the woman as "not being able to deal with reality" and "not as good as she thought she was."

Bishop, a neurobiologist from Harvard University, joined the UAH biology faculty as an assistant professor in fall 2003.

Bishop and her husband placed third in a statewide university business plan competition in July 2007, presenting a portable cell incubator they had invented. They won $25,000 to help start a company to market the device.

Amanda Tucker, a junior nursing major from Alabaster, Ala., had Amy Bishop for anatomy about a year ago. Tucker said a group of students went to a dean complaining about Bishop's performance in the classroom, and Tucker signed a petition complaining about Bishop.

"When it came down to tests, and people asked her what was the best way to study, she'd just tell you, `Read the book.' When the test came, there were just ridiculous questions. No one even knew what she was asking,'" said Tucker.

Andrea Bennett, a sophomore majoring in nursing, was in one of Bishop's classes Friday morning.

Bennett said nothing seemed unusual, but she described Bishop as being "very weird" and "a really big nerd."

"She's well-known on campus, but I wouldn't say she's a good teacher. I've heard a lot of complaints," Bennett said. "She's a genius, but she really just can't explain things."

Bennett, an athlete at UAH, said her coach told her team Bishop had been denied tenure and that may have led to the shooting.

"She went to Harvard, so she is very smart. I can see that her getting denied tenure at UAH would be pretty upsetting," said Bennett.

Nick Lawton, the son of a biology professor at the school, said his father was not among the victims, but he did not know much more.

Lawton, 25, also took an anatomy and physiology class with Bishop last semester. He described her as funny and accommodating with students.

"She lectured from the textbook, mostly stuck to the subject matter at hand," Nick Lawton said. "She seemed like a nice enough professor."

Sophomore Erin Johnson told The Huntsville Times a biology faculty meeting was under way when she heard screams coming from a conference room.

University police secured the building and students were cleared from it. There was still a heavy police presence on campus Friday night, with police tape cordoning off the main entrance to the university.

The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line. The university is known for its scientific and engineering programs and often works closely with NASA.

The space agency has a research center on the school's campus, where many scientists and engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center perform Earth and space science research and development.

The university posted a message on its Web site Friday afternoon telling students the campus was closed Friday night and all students were encouraged to go home. Counselors were available to speak with students.

It's the second shooting in a week on an area campus. Last Friday, a 14-year-old student was killed in a middle school hallway in nearby Madison, allegedly by a fellow student.

"This town is unaccustomed to shootings and multiple deaths," Garner said.

___

Associated Press Writers Phillip Rawls and Desiree Hunter in Montgomery, Ala., and Jacob Jordan and Daniel Yee in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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Updated: Female biology professor kills three in shooting on ... - Nationalpost.com

Posted: 12 Feb 2010 07:16 PM PST

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Full story: Female faculty member allegedly kills three in Huntsville university shooting

Profile: Dr. Amy Bishop, alleged University of Alabama-Huntsville shooter

"Three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville were killed on Friday when a biology professor started shooting during a faculty meeting, police and university officials said.
Three other faculty staff members were wounded in the shooting at the university's Shelby Center science and technology building.
Huntsville police and a university spokesman said the suspected shooter, a female faculty member, was arrested, and a man was also detained.
Another university official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the female suspect arrested was Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard University-trained biology professor.
The Huntsville Times published a photograph of the blond-haired suspect, dressed in blue jeans and a gray jersey, being led to a police car by an armed policewoman."

UPDATE 7:10 p.m. ET: Dr. Bishop's profile on the UAH site has been locked, but reviews of her courses on ratemyprofessor.com remain.

"Neuroscience essentially turns into a bioethics class. She's a liberal from "Hahvahd" and let's you know exactly how she feels about particular subjects," says one student. Others praised her teaching skills, but warned "She expects a lot and you need to come to every class and study."

UPDATE 6:57 p.m. ET: The Huntsville Times has IDed the alleged shooter as Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist and biology professor at the University of Huntsville-Alabama. (PHOTO HERE) She and her husband have been detained. They have not been charged with a crime.

/via The Huntsville Times

Latest on Twitter:

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A biology professor is in custody in connection with three fatal shootings on the University of Alabama in Huntsville campus Friday afternoon, according to a UAH official. Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard-University trained neuroscientist, was taken into custody, and her husband has been detained. They have not been charged with a crime.

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UPDATE 6:45 p.m. ET: Quote and more details, from our Reuters wire:

"I heard three shots and screaming," Melanie Gates, an engineering student at the campus, told Reuters. She was near the exit of the Shelby Center when the shootings happened and she said the sound of the shots appeared to come from the third floor, where a biology faculty meeting was taking place.

And WAFF-TV now reporting that two others are in critical condition and the shooting scene secured, officials say.

/via @BreakingNews

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UPDATE 6:43: Some information on the University of Alabama-Huntsville:

UAH one of three schools in the University of Alabama system. It is the site for the National Space Science and Technology Centre and its science faculty have frequently collaborated with NASA. It has an enrollment of 7,500.

/via Wikipedia

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UPDATE 6:40 p.m. ET: WAFF-TV confirms that a female member of the University of Alabama-Huntsville faculty has shot and killed three colleagues in a math and sciences building on campus.

Authorities have told WAFF that a female faculty member learned during a Biology faculty meeting that she would not be receiving tenure. She then pulled out a gun and started shooting.

All three of the dead are staff members.

"Everybody's thoughts and prayers are with the families. The board will stay informed on what has happened and will do what it can to support the University," said University of Alabama Board of Trustees President Finis St. John IV.

/via WAFF-TV

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UPDATE 6:23 p.m. ET: WAFF-TV is reports police are says that a woman in Alabama college shooting allegedly opened fire in faculty meeting when she learned she wouldn't get tenure.

/via @BreakingNews

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UPDATE 6:15 p.m. ET: Three people have been killed and a fourth person wounded in a shooting on the University of Alabama-Huntsville campus. Several more victims have been rushed to hospital. A spokesperson for UAHuntsville told The Huntsville Times that one shooting suspect is in custody.

We have yet to see confirmation of the early reports of a 911 call stating the shooter was a woman wearing a pink sweater. Her husband was believed to be a target.

/via The Huntsville Times

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View Shelby Center in a larger map

UPDATE 6 p.m. ET: A 911 call indicated as many as 10 people may have been shot by a woman in a pink sweater, the Huntsville Times reports. WHNT suggests the woman's husband may have been a target.

The shooting occurred at the campus's Shelby Center at 4 p.m. local time. The victims are believed to be faculty members.

The Huntsville Times reports that police scanner traffic indicated a suspect may be barricaded on the third floor of the academic building, the newspaper said.

/via New York Post

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Three people were killed Friday in a shooting at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the shooter was in custody, a college spokesman said; WAFF-TV is reporting the campus is on lockdown.

With files from AFP

More to come.