New York college student, 21, shot dead near upstate campus

Talented cellist Elizabeth Howell was set to graduate this year; a 31-year-old man has been charged in her death

A senior at SUNY Potsdam was found shot dead on a road near campus on Friday, prompting a lockdown warning before authorities established her killing was an isolated incident.

Elizabeth Howell, 21, was from Patterson, New York, about a five-hour drive south of the state university campus where she’d been set to graduate this year with a degree in music education.

A man 10 years her senior, Michael J. Snow, from Massena – just 24 miles from Potsdam – has been arrested and charged in connection with her death.

SUNY Potsdam and authorities say the 31-year-old had no affiliation with the school, and it’s unclear how or if he and Ms Howell knew each other.

According to police, Ms Howell was found with gunshot wounds on Friday evening on College Park Road in Potsdam village. She was transported to Canton Potsdam Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Mr Snow has been charged with one count of murder in the 2nd degree, according to the New York State Police. The Massena man was arraigned in the town of Potsdam court and was remanded to St. Lawrence County Jail with no bail.

Ms Howell was a cellist with the Crane Symphony Orchestra at SUNY Potsdam, which was in mourning over the weekend and cancelled Monday classes.

“We are in disbelief at the sudden loss of one of our own,” the school posted on Instagram, adding that “Beth was ... an aspiring educator with a bright future ahead of her. No words can express the sadness we share as a campus community following this tragic loss.”

The school set up a memorial space on campus as the community struggled to come to terms with the senseless killing in the quiet upstate town, which is close to the border with Canada.