ATHENS, Ga. " The manhunt for a University of Georgia professor suspected in the shooting deaths of his wife and two men shifted away from this campus town Monday as the FBI revealed he has a plane ticket for the Netherlands later this week and left behind an empty passport wallet.
George M. Zinkhan has not been seen since the shootings near campus Saturday, and law enforcement agencies nationwide have been enlisted in the search for the marketing professor, authorities said. His relatives also have been working to help Athens-Clarke County police and the FBI to find him, his brother told The Associated Press.
"We are doing all we can to prevent any additional violence," Chris Zinkhan said in an e-mail.
Gunfire erupted at a midday gathering of a local theater group at the Athens Community Theater. Killed were George Zinkhan's wife, 47-year-old attorney Marie Bruce, and two members of her theater group, Ben Teague, 63, and Tom Tanner, 40. Zinkhan, 57, disappeared after the shootings in a red Jeep Liberty.
As classes resumed Monday on the campus where Zinkhan had taught since the 1990s, the university announced that the marketing professor had been fired. As a precaution, university police carried assault rifles as they patrolled on foot, but University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said investigators believe Zinkhan had left Athens, 70 miles east of Atlanta.
Delta Air Lines confirmed Zinkhan has a ticket to Amsterdam for May 2, FBI Special Agent Gregory McClendon said in a federal court affidavit. McClendon said Zinkhan might change the date and try to leave early. The affidavit seeks a federal arrest warrant if Zinkhan is located.