Education | Law

Author of book about tribes in Virginia murdered at university






A view of the campus of Delta State University in Mississippi. Photo from Facebook

The author of a recently published book about "hatred" towards tribes in Virginia was murdered on the campus of Delta State University in Mississippi.

Assistant history professor Ethan Schmidt, 39, was shot and killed in his office on Monday morning, according to news reports. The suspected shooter was Shannon Lamb, another professor at the university.

Lamb, 45, died after engaging in chase with law enforcement on Monday night. He is also suspected in the death of Amy Prentiss, 41, his girlfriend. Authorities are investigating the incidents.

Schmidt was the author of The Divided Dominion: Social Conflict and Indian Hatred in Early Virginia, which was published in April. The book detailed how settlers in Virginia called for the "annihilation of all Indians in Virginia" during Bacon's Rebellion of 1676.

The attempted genocide did not succeed but settler Nathaniel Bacon and his men attacked a friendly group of members of the Pamunkey Tribe, according to Wikipedia. The tribe had been an ally to the English colonial government and had already signed treaties by the time of the uprising.

Get the Story:
Suspected Mississippi college shooter dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound (The Washington Post 9/15)
Delta State officials discuss victim, suspect at late press conference (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger 9/25)

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Pamunkey Tribe enters federal recognition era with new chief (08/04)

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