A male graduate student committed suicide in front of a professor at around 11:40 a.m. Monday in the College of Design South building on the Tempe campus.

David Solnick, a 59-year-old student in the graphic design program, was talking with Associate Professor Mookesh Patel inside Patel’s office when the student pulled out a handgun and shot himself, ASU Police spokesman Cmdr. Jim Hardina said.

Solnick died instantly, police said, and he never posed a potential danger to anyone around him.

“At this point, we have the weapon, the student is deceased and there is no threat to the campus,” Hardina said about 20 minutes after the incident was reported.

Hardina said the department will not release details of the conversation between Solnick and Patel until the investigation is complete.

Patel was unavailable for comment.

Solnick was preparing to graduate in December, according to his personal blog. He also received his bachelor’s degree from ASU.

According to the blog, he had worked as a visual designer since the 1980s in the areas of ceramics, print and paint and was working on a series of pictures of two of his friends.

Many students were inside the College of Design South building during the incident, which occurred while classes were in session.

The building was evacuated and closed off for the rest of the day.

Classes were canceled, and the building is scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning.

History senior David Timchak said he was on the first floor of the building talking to a friend when the incident happened.

Timchak said he was not startled when he heard the gunshot, thinking it was an object hitting the floor, but the commotion it caused in the building prompted him to leave.

“We didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now it’s really weird to think while we were laughing and joking … 50 feet away someone was taking their own life,” he said. “It’s kind of creepy to think about going back into that building.”

ASU issued a brief statement saying it was deeply saddened to report the incident. The University also utilized its text messaging alert system to notify students of a suicide on campus involving a firearm but added that students were in no danger.

State Press Television
By Daryl Bjoraas

Interior design sophomore Lauren Popish said the design program at ASU can be very stressful because of the school’s high reputation and the constant pressure of deadlines.

“Lots of kids sleep in this building,” Popish said. “Because you’re working with the best of the best, the expectation level continues to get higher.”

ASU alumnus Jana Jaenig, who graduated in 2007 with a degree in visual communications, said Patel was her favorite professor and she traveled with him on two study abroad trips.

“He is an amazing teacher, and I feel for him because he is going through this,” she said. “He is a very, very loved professor.”

The University is making counseling available for faculty, staff and students.

Counselors will be available in the College of Design North building in room 162A, said Kwan-Wu Kim, dean of the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts in a statement. They will be available Tuesday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., he said.

The Graduate and Professional Student Association also encouraged students and friends who are troubled by this incident to seek counseling services provided by ASU.

Scarlett Heydt, Tessa Muggeridge and Adam Sneed contributed to this report. Reach the reporters at news.statepress@gmail.com.