Vigil tonight to honor UGA shooting victims

Athens — The University of Georgia is holding its annual vigil Tuesday night to honor students, faculty and staff who have died during the past year. University president Michael Adams said Saturday’s Town and Gown shooting victims would be included in the ceremony.

Marie E. Bruce, 47, Thomas C. Tanner, 40, and Ben Teague, 63, were shot and killed when they were attending a reunion picnic Saturday afternoon. The prime suspect, 57-year-old UGA professor George M. Zinkhan III, is still on the loose.

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George Zinkhan III

Elissa Eubanks / eeubanks@ajc.com

Authorities investigate after a tip concerning the shootings in Athens on Saturday.

Related George Zinkhan news:

• Photos: Zinkhan's body found
• Fellow professor sent into hiding
• Details of suicide
• Dog finds body
• Reaction in Athens
• Timeline of events
• Audio: 911 call
• FBI: Zinkhan's wife had sought divorce

Funeral arrangements remain incomplete. Platt’s Funeral Home of Augusta is handling the arrangements for the Bruce family while Tanner and Teague are both being handled by Bernstein Funeral Home in Athens.

There have been no sightings of Zinkhan since he dropped off his two children at a neighbor’s house shortly after the 12:25 p.m. killings Saturday at the Athens Community Theater.

Two other persons were wounded in the shooting, including Mark Ralston of Athens. Ralston, 48, was at his Athens residence recovering from a bullet wound to his foot Tuesday morning.

“I’m doing pretty well,” Ralston said. “I’m in good condition. I’ll be back to normal in just a few weeks.”

Ralston, a former reporter who is now a public relations specialist at St. Marys Hospital, declined to answer questions about the shootings.

“I’d prefer not to at this point,” he said. “This one’s just too close and too personal.”