College professor charged with fatally shooting freshman in Georgia

A University of West Georgia professor was arrested in connection with the death of a freshman on Saturday.

Richard Sigman, 47, was charged with murder, possession of a firearm, and aggravated assault in the death of Anna Jones, a recent high school graduate enrolled as a freshman at the University of West Georgia, the New York Post reported.

Carrollton police claimed that a witness alerted security at Leopoldo's Pizzeria that Sigman had threatened to shoot the young woman after the two began a verbal argument around midnight.

When security personnel approached the professor, they noticed he had a gun. Sigman took off and drove to a parking lot where he allegedly began firing at a vehicle in which Jones was sitting, according to authorities.

Jones was struck by a bullet. Her friends rushed her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The University of West Georgia said Sigman was fired after charges were filed against him.

"The University of West Georgia has learned of the loss of one of its students, Anna Jones, who passed away following an off-campus incident earlier today," the school's president, Brendan Kelly, said in a statement, quoted by CBS 46. "UWG fired Richard Sigman and continues to work with the City of Carrollton Police Department, which is leading this ongoing investigation."

Kelly also sent his condolences to the Jones family. "On behalf of the university, we would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Anna's family and her many friends," he wrote.

Jones graduated this year from Mount Zion High School.

"Anna loved this school and this community. She will be deeply missed by many," the school wrote in a Facebook post. "Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time."