Ron Lane (Facebook)
A gay man who worked as a print technician at Wayne Community College in North Carolina was gunned down by a white supremacist former student on the college’s campus Monday morning.
Ron “Dwight” Lane, 44, a longtime employee of the school and also a former WCC student, was fatally shot in the head with a pistol-grip shotgun at about 8 a.m., police said.
The suspect, 20-year-old Kenneth Morgan Stancil III, was arrested early Tuesday morning in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was found sleeping on a beach about 500 miles away from the North Carolina school, NBC News reports.
Police say they are now investigating the case as a possible hate crime, according to The Associated Press.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. He Worked at the School’s Print Shop
Ron Lane. (Facebook)
According to ABC 11 News, Lane ran the print shop at the Goldsboro, North Carolina school. He was shot in an office on the third floor of the school’s library, officials said.
In addition to being an employee of the school, Lane, of Seven Springs, North Carolina, attended the community college from 1989 to 1995, according to his Facebook page.
Lane worked at the school for 18 years.
“This is indeed a sad day for Wayne Community College and this close family and community,” school President Kay Albertson said, according to ABC 11. “Our hearts are heavy at the loss of an employee — a valued employee — and we will soon be reaching out to the family.”
Members of the school community gathered to remember Lane the day after his death. Classes were cancelled.
2. Lane Was in a Relationship With a Man Who Went Missing Last Year
Ron Lane, right, with Chuck Tobin, his boyfriend who went missing more than a year before Lane’s death. (Facebook)
According to his Facebook page, Lane was in a relationship with Chuck Tobin, who went missing last year. They had been in a relationship since 2002, according to Lane’s Facebook page. Tobin’s remains were reportedly found months after he disappeared, and his death appears to have been an accident, according to Facebook posts by family members.
Lane posted in November:
Just thinking about you my pretty pretty Chuck Tobin this will be the first holiday that I will be without you. R.I.P. sorry thing did not turn out differently. I missed your beautiful eyes and that joker smile. Love you baby boy.
3. The Shooter’s Mother Says Lane Made Sexual Advances Toward Her Son
Kenneth Stancil (Alabama Department of Corrections)
According to NBC News, officials said they do not believe the shooting was random. Stancil, the suspected gunman, was a former student at the school and Lane, and other employees, knew the shooter.
Stancil was a work study student at the college. Lane was Stancil’s boss and fired him from the job, according to Tara Humphries, a school spokesperson.
A woman who identified herself as Stancil’s mother told WNCN that Lane “made inappropriate sexual advances toward him.”
“I have the letter that showed he was terminated without consent,” Debbie Stancil told WNCN.
Lane’s family denied those allegations. Officials said Stancil was fired for absences.
Stancil appeared in court the day of his arrest and, in a profanity laced outburst, accused Lane of being a child molester who had inappropriately touched one of his relatives. He told the judge there is “now one less child molester,” and said “doing time is the easy part, know what I’m saying?”
Stancil’s mother told the Associated Press that none of Stancil’s relatives were molested by Lane, saying her son is “rattled and confused.”
“I don’t agree with what he did, but in his mind he must have thought that was the only way,” she told the AP. “He’s probably out of his mind. I think he needs mental help.”
She did stick by the allegations that Lane made inappropriate advances toward her son.
“He was verbally inappropriate with Morgan at school. Very much verbally inappropriate,” Debbie Stancil said. Her son’s middle name is Morgan. “He would tell him to stop and he kept on.”
4. The Alleged Gunman Described His Job as ‘Enforcer at White Power’ on Facebook
(Facebook)
On his now deleted Facebook page Stancil refered to his job as “Enforcer at White Power.” His alias on the site is “WhiteKnight.” Among his likes are the band Angry Aryans, White Pride, Hitler Adolph, the National Socialist Movement, and Guns & Ammo.
According to CNN, the suspect was described as a “bald white male, 5-foot-11, with a tattoo over his left eye and a goatee.” He was wearing a blue jacket and light-colored pants. He was armed with a rifle, reports WRAL.
The college said Stancil was a dean’s list student set to graduate with a welding degree.
“I guess from my point of view, he (Stancil) was angry over getting dismissed from his duties,” Brent Hood, coordinator of Wayne Community College’s education support technology and Lane’s supervisor, told The Associated Press. “He worked very well with Ron; he worked very well with my other employees.”
5. The School Has About 4,000 Students
(Waynecc.edu)
There are about 4,000 students enrolled at Wayne Community. According to the school’s Facebook page, it was founded in 1957 and offers 90 separate degree, diploma and certificate programs.
