Campus Alert Archive
SPU

A Student Monitor With Pepper Spray Tackles the Gunman After a Shotgun Misfire at SPU

WAactive shooteremergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Aaron Ybarra, 27, opened fire with a shotgun outside Otto Miller Hall at Seattle Pacific University on June 5, 2014, killing one student (Paul Lee, 19) and wounding two others (Thomas Fowler and the critically injured Sarah Williams). The shooting ended when student building monitor Jon Meis tackled Ybarra after the shotgun misfired. Meis used pepper spray to subdue the shooter until police arrived. Ybarra was later sentenced to 112 years in prison.

Alerts
2
Response
1 min
Killed
1
Injured
2
Institution
Seattle Pacific University
Private Masters · WA
~4,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction176 chars
SPU ALERT: Campus lockdown. Active shooter reported at Otto Miller Hall. Stay away from the area. If you are on campus, shelter in place. Lock doors and stay away from windows.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from news reports describing the campus lockdown notification; the exact SMS wording is not publicly archived
Contemporaneous reporting indicates the SPU-Alert email/text stated the campus was on lockdown, that it was 'not a drill,' and that a shooter was on campus
The shooting happened at approximately 3:25 p.m., and the campus lockdown was issued almost immediately
Otto Miller Hall is an academic building on SPU's compact urban campus in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle
By the time the alert went out, the shooter had already been subdued by student Jon Meis
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction188 chars
SPU ALERT: All clear. The suspect has been taken into custody. The campus lockdown has been lifted. One person has been confirmed deceased and others have been transported to the hospital.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from news timeline and university statements
Confirms both the arrest and the fatality in a single message
SPU is a small private university (4,000 students) where news travels fast through social networks, so the alert confirmed what many already knew
Context

Background

Seattle Pacific University is a small private Christian university in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. The shooting at Otto Miller Hall became nationally known not for the attack itself, but for the heroic response of student building monitor Jon Meis. When Ybarra paused to reload and the shotgun misfired, Meis tackled the shooter and used pepper spray to subdue him. Other students then helped hold Ybarra until police arrived. The incident became a case study in the effectiveness of the "run, hide, fight" framework, particularly the "fight" element. Ybarra, who had no connection to SPU, told investigators the shooting was "so fun." He was later diagnosed with mental illness and sentenced to 112 years in prison. The incident prompted discussions about whether arming student building monitors or placing them in security roles was appropriate for small private campuses.
Analysis

Key Findings

Student building monitor Jon Meis's intervention became a national example of the 'fight' option in run-hide-fight active shooter response training
The shotgun misfire created a critical window of opportunity; without it, the casualty count would likely have been much higher
SPU's small campus size (4,000 students) meant the response was intimate and personal in ways that differ from large university shootings
The shooter had no connection to SPU, raising questions about campus access control at small open-campus institutions
Outcome
One student killed (Paul Lee, 19). Two others critically wounded but survived. Ybarra was tackled by student monitor Jon Meis and held until police arrived. Ybarra was later sentenced to 112 years in prison.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Timeline: Seattle Pacific University shooting (KING 5)
    king5.com
  2. News
    3 shot at Seattle Pacific University before student tackles gunman (CNN)
    cnn.com
  3. News
    Aaron Ybarra sentenced to 112 years (Seattle Times)
    seattletimes.com
  4. Official
    (Updated) Gunman Kills One, Wounds Two at Seattle Pacific University - Seattle Police Department Blotter
    spdblotter.seattle.gov
Tags
active-shooterprivate-mastersstudent-heropepper-sprayshotgun-misfirerun-hide-fightwashingtonsmall-campusbuilding-monitor
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion