<< Back 10/2/02 Shooting prompts student to withdraw from WCU By John Estes A Western Carolina University freshman has withdrawn from school after a shotgun was fired at him Sept. 18 while he was driving on N.C. 107 near Catamount Gap. The student, a resident of Atlanta, was driving from Sylva to campus when the incident occurred. Both the campus police and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office refused to name the victim, citing fears of retaliation against him. Weaver Brown Jr. of Cope Creek Road was indicted last Monday for attempted murder of the WCU freshman. The initial trial date is set for Nov. 12. Brown is currently on probation after a conviction a year ago for shooting at a sheriff’s vehicle. The student was driving a gold-colored BMW convertible at the time of the incident. The assailant drove an older-model pickup truck, and reportedly shot at the victim with a shotgun. The student was not injured in the incident, but damage was done to his car. According to Det. Patrick McCoy of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the victim saw the barrel of the weapon pointing at him and ducked down. A blast from what authorities believe was a .16-gauge shotgun was fired at the victim from the left lane of the highway. The round went over the victim’s neck, through the car, and hit the passenger side mirror. The top of the convertible was down, and the round only did damage to the mirror. The student was able to get the assailant’s license plate number. The student reported the incident to campus police, who made the first inquiries into the matter. The Sheriff’s office later pursued the investigation and made an arrest. According to WCU Campus Police Chief Eugene McAbee, the two had contact with each other four days prior to the shooting incident. The two were involved in the Wal-Mart parking lot in what was described as a staring contest. Nothing came of their first contact, but the defendant could have later recognized the student’s vehicle, according to campus police. Det. Patrick McCoy of the sheriff’s office said he did not know what the motive for the shooting was. “We don’t know what his motivation is. Our opinion of it, with the way we’ve got him charged, he was he was aiming at the guy’s head,” said McCoy.