January 03, 2017
Smallbones /Wikimedia Commons
Tuition at state-owned universities in Pennsylvania, like West Chester University, above, will not increase for the 2019-20 academic year.
A New Jersey man is facing multiple charges after West Chester University authorities say he threatened last month to kill his ex-girlfriend and "shoot up" the school in a series of aggressive text messages.
Police arrested 21-year-old Jamie Zannino, a Manchester resident and member of an amateur hardcore band, on Dec. 8 following an investigation of a report phoned in by the mother of the ex-girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Local.
Investigators said Zannino, who "screams" for local band When Blood Comes Ashore, sent multiple violent threats to a woman identified as West Chester student and New Jersey resident Molly Pfister.
“Your dead (sic) … if you won’t be with me I’ll make you,” Zannino allegedly wrote to Pfister in one text, adding that he would "shoot up the whole school if I have to," detectives said in the criminal complaint.
Investigators said Zannino also directed threatening text messages toward a friend of his ex-girlfriend, whose body he allegedly threatened to dismember and disperse for a scavenger hunt.
The threats allegedly escalated with the approach of winter break and hints from Zannino that he would harm Pfister during her time back home.
A review of Zannino's Facebook page turned up multiple memes and status updates referencing violence, alcohol and drugs, the New Jersey Devils and struggles with mental illness.
“Always carry a knife with you just in case there’s cheesecake or you meet someone who needs to be stabbed," read one Facebook post made two days before Zannino's arrest.
New Jersey authorities initially held Zannino on a warrant in Manchester on misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, harassment and stalking. He is being held at Chester County Prison on $175,000 cash bail, with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 6.
