A Mississippi State alum was among the five victims that were killed in the Aurora, Illinois shooting last Friday.
When Gary Martin was told that he was being fired from the Henry Pratt Company warehouse, he opened fire and killed five people. One victim was plant manager, Josh Pinkard.
Pinkard, 37, graduated from Mississippi State in 2005, and Sid Salter, MSU chief communications officer, issued the following statement after Pinkard’s death.
“The MSU family mourns the loss of our beloved alum, who also was a beloved husband and father,” he said. “Mississippi State University extends our sympathy and prayers for his family and friends and for the community that has suffered this terrible tragedy.”
Fox News reported that Josh’s wife, Terra, received a text on Friday from Josh saying, “I love you, I’ve been shot at work.”
Terra loaded the couple’s three children into the car and it wasn’t until hours later, at a staging area for victims’ families, that she was told that Josh was among those killed in the shooting.
Martin was killed in a shootout with police at the scene of the shooting.
