1 year after State College shooting rampage, victim’s wife reflects on community’s ‘kindnesses’
Friday marks the one-year anniversary of a State College shooting that left four people dead, another critically injured and rattled a community that takes pride in its safety.
Jordan Witmer, 21, fatally shot Dean and Steven Beachy, and critically injured Nicole Abrino inside P.J. Harrigan’s Bar & Grill the night of Jan. 24, 2019.
Prominent horse auctioneer Dean Beachy, 62, and his 19-year-old son, Steven, were in town from Millersburg, Ohio, for a horse auction in Centre Hall.
Witmer fled the South Atherton Street restaurant and crashed a vehicle on Waupelani Drive. From there, he broke into George and Joann McCormick’s home at 748 Tussey Lane and fatally shot George McCormick, an 82-year-old retired foods supervisor and vending manager at Penn State. Witmer then died by suicide.
In a two-page letter titled “Kindnesses” penned by Joann McCormick and shared with the Centre Daily Times, the widow reflected on the tragedy and past year.
“We have been blessed by everyone in the county and then some,” she wrote.
She also wrote of an apology letter she received from each of Witmer’s parents, who did not respond to a request for comment.
“I can only imagine their heartache, and I know that they could not possibly have controlled the decisions that their son made that night,” Joann McCormick wrote.
In her letter, she extolled the Happy Valley community that supported her, including the State College and Ferguson Township police officers who responded.
“Not enough can be said for the professionalism of the Ferguson Township and State College police who rescued me that night, helped me to process what was happening, shielded me from the worst of the crime scene and kept us updated as things progressed, even as they faced something truly horrendous,” she wrote. “They also cleaned up the worst part before we were allowed to return to the home.”
She thanked friends and family who helped repair the “unlivable” condo, a local hotel and storage company that offered discounts on their services and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas for serving a meal at her husband’s funeral.
There are also evocative memories of hugs from employees at the Waffle Shop, Corner Room and McDonald’s. Those are just some of the “many kindnesses” from one of State College’s most indelible days.
“Most of all, I remember the love and well wishes and prayers of more relatives and friends than I ever realized we had,” she wrote. “These have encouraged and sustained me through all of it.”
Neither State College police nor Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna identified a motive for the shootings, though Witmer’s blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit for driving.
Abrino, who has only commented on the shooting through her GoFundMe, travels monthly to UPMC Pittsburgh for treatment of her injuries, she wrote last month.
She wrote of troubles gaining stability, “unbearable” tremors and spasms, and liver disease. She also thanked her husband and trauma surgeon for their support, along with the challenge of gaining employment because of disability.
“Coming up on a year since the horrible night that I still have flashbacks from on the daily, the images replay in my head and I wish I could have done more,” Abrino wrote last month. “It’s been a really tough road and, unfortunately, it still feels like just the beginning.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.