• Friend Nate Flesch had dinner with shooting suspect Aaron Ybarra the night before the rampage
• The two attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings together    NA Daytona
• Ybarra wasn’t a student and had no connection to Seattle Pacific or his victims
• A 19-year-old man was killed and a 20-year-old woman remains in critical condition
• The other two students are in stable condition
• Engineering student Jon Meis has been identified by classmates as the hero who stopped the gunman

By Ryan Gorman and Michael Zennie Published: 7 June 2014

A friend of the 26-year-old gunman who opened fire on a Seattle university says the shooter is a’ sweet kid’ but is haunted by his struggle with addiction.

One student died and three others were wounded after Aaron Ybarra stormed the campus of Seattle Pacific University Thursday night with a shotgun – and a friend who had dinner with the suspect the night before the rampage says he is ‘shocked’ the recovering alcoholic is involved. Daytona Beach AA and NA Meetings in Ormond Beach.

Nate Flesch told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he and Ybarra attend the same Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and that the troubled man has been sober for about one year. He spoke with the paper only hours before the suspected shooter was led into court in shackles. Holly Hill commissioners and the Mayor race 2014.

‘For the past year and a half or so he’s been trying to turn his life around,’ Flesch said. ‘He attends the same (Alcoholics Anonymous) classes as I do in the Lynnwood area. He’s a kid that I think has been sober now for a little bit over a year.’

Flesch called Ybarra ‘socially awkward,’ but ‘sweet.’

‘He’s a sweet kid, he’s a nice kid, very thankful, very appreciative, and I’m just kind of shocked to hear it was Aaron who was involved in this.’

Ybarra would often go to the bar where Flesch works as a bartender and order a soda or juice – never alcohol.

The suspected shooter also just started a new job, Flesch told the paper.

‘He was proud that they were starting to like him at his job. They were giving him more hours, and he was excited that he would have more money.

Flesch insists he has no idea ‘what set [Ybarra] off,’ and that he is ‘flabbergasted by the sequence of events.

‘He was trying to turn his life around, that he was trying to be a better person, and he was kind of working on his social skills, too,’ Flesch continued, adding he had lunch with Ybarra the night before the assault. Solemn: Students and other supporters form a prayer circle Friday on the campus of Seattle Pacific University  ‘It’s a little eerie, a little scary,’ said Flesch. ‘To be honest with you, I’m a little heartbroken. It breaks my heart to see a kid like this, who was turning himself around, kind of just go off the deep end. I don’t know what triggered it. ‘For this to happen is mind-boggling, and I don’t know what else to say.’ The friend spoke not long after the identity of the hero who brought the onslaught to an end with a can of pepper spray was identified by police.

Students at Seattle Pacific University say Jon Meis saved countless lives when he sprang into action as the shooter stopped to reload his weapon Thursday afternoon.

The heroic engineering student reportedly hit Ybarra with the pepper spray as he ran at and tackled him, saving countless lives.

Meis, 26, is engaged to be married and has ‘everything to live for’ friends said. But he risked his life and ended the murderous rampage.

‘I’m proud of the selfless actions that my roommate, Jon Meis, showed today taking down the shooter. He is a hero,’ tweeted Matt Garcia.

A victim is loaded into an ambulance on the campus of Seattle Pacific University after a shooting Thursday afternoon 

A victim is loaded into an ambulance on the campus of Seattle Pacific University after a shooting Thursday afternoon 

Classmate Briana Clarke told the Seattle Times that Meis, who was on duty as a hall monitor, sprayed the attacker in the face, grabbed him around the neck and then wrestled him to the ground.

‘There were a lot of shells on the ground..it looked like he was planning to go the distance and Jon stopped him,’ another student told KOMO-TV.

Several other students then piled on the attacker and held him until police arrived.

‘But for the great response for the people at Seattle Pacific this incident would have been much more tragic,’ assistant police chief Paul McDonagh said Thursday night.

A 19-year-old male student was shot in the head and died at a nearby hospital. A 20-year-old female student was shot in the neck and remains in critical condition. Two other students, both males in their 20s, were wounded but are in good condition after sustaining minor injuries. The gunman has been identified as Aaron Ybarra, 26, according to KIRO-TV. Authorities say he is not a student and has no connection to Seattle Pacific University or to any of his victims. Detectives are still trying to determine why he targeted the college.

Witnesses said the gunman barged into Otto Miller Hall – the science and engineering building for the university – about 3.30pm on Thursday. One witness told KIRO-TV that the gunman held his weapon on three students and told them not to move, when they did, he shot and wounded two and shot another student in the face. The victim who was shot in the face was rushed to the hospital, where he died. ‘The shooter began to reload his shotgun and a student that is the building monitor inside the hall confronted the shooter, was able to subdued the individual, and once on the ground, other students jumped on top of him and were able to pin the shooter to the ground until police arrived,’ Seattle Police Captain Chris Fowler said in a press conference. Seattle Pacific is a small Christian college associated with the Free Methodist Church with a student body just of about 4,370

The university was placed on lockdown and the administrators advised students to stay inside and lock their windows and doors and close their blinds. Students were sent an email blast that warned: ‘THIS IS NOT A DRILL.’

It’s unknown whether the gunman is a student at the university or whether the victims were random strangers or targeted.

Some students told KCPQ-TV that they recognized the shooter, indicating that they might have recognized the gunman.

Video from KIRO-TV showed a young man who appeared to be in his late teens or early 20s being led away in handcuffs.

– See more at: http://www.ablxboston.com/national/60674-friend-says-seattle-pacific-university-shooter-is-a-sweet-kid-haunted-by-his-past.html