Report: NAU shooting victim Colin Brough's blood alcohol 3 times above legal limit

A medical examiner's report shows Northern Arizona University shooting victim Colin Brough was intoxicated when he was shot and killed on the Flagstaff campus Oct. 9.

The 20-year-old had a blood-alcohol level of 0.285, which is more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 for motorists in Arizona. The toxicology report that accompanied his autopsy also showed that he had recently used marijuana.

The report, which was released Wednesday afternoon by the Coconino County Office of the Medical Examiner, showed Brough died of two gunshot wounds to his chest and right shoulder.

The bullets perforated his lung, vena cava and aorta. Both shots were to the front of his body, and an NAU police report released earlier explained that Brough was leaning slightly forward when he was shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Steven Jones, 18, who has been charged with first-degree murder in Brough's death, said that he acted in self-defense. Jones told police that Brough and another man had charged him before he fired. That allegation has been corroborated by at least one witness and contradicted by others.

Three other students were wounded in the early-morning shooting: Nicholas Piring, Nicholas Prato and Kyle Zientek, all 20.

No information has been released as to the blood-alcohol levels of the three surviving victims.

Jones told police in an interview after the shooting that he had taken "only a sip" of his friend's beer that night because he knew he would be driving later.

"He had no alcohol in his system and no drugs," Jones' attorney, Burges McCowan, told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday. "The state has given us those results, and he had nothing in his system."

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Jones said he and two friends were first attacked and beaten outside an apartment complex that bordered the campus. He alleged the assailants then chased him to his car, which was parked nearby in a campus lot. He grabbed his gun from the car and confronted Brough and another male, and then shot both of them when they lunged at him, he said..

But one of the victims, Prato, told police Brough and the other student didn't approach Jones.

A crowd took Jones to the ground after Brough and another student were shot. Jones shot two more students, according to the police report. He put down the gun and surrendered when police arrived.

A Coconino County grand jury indicted Jones on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault. At a hearing Tuesday, Deputy Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said his office was not planning on offering any plea agreements.

Video from police body cameras show that Jones was distraught and near hysterical when police arrested him.

Brough, a junior, was an honors student majoring in international business. He had already landed an internship in London for the summer of 2016.

He grew up in Annapolis, Md., playing lacrosse at Broadneck High School before moving with his parents and two brothers to Castle Rock, Colo., about 30 miles south of Denver. He graduated from Castle Rock High School in 2013 and started classes at NAU the following fall. His family could not be reached for comment.

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8072 or anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com.

Images from the incident at Northern Arizona University