The Chase Meola shooting was the fatal October 11, 2020, killing of a 23-year-old Ohio State University student outside an off-campus Phi Kappa Psi party in Columbus. The shooter, Kinte Mitchell Jr., was sentenced in September 2023 to an indefinite prison term of 15 to 20½ years after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a firearm specification, along with three burglary cases. The Meola family’s civil lawsuits against Ohio State and against Phi Kappa Psi were both dismissed.
What Happened Outside the Fraternity House
Around 2 a.m. on October 11, 2020, a party was underway at the Phi Kappa Psi house on East 14th Avenue, just off the Ohio State campus. The chapter had been suspended by the university since June 2018 for hazing, alcohol violations, and endangering behavior, but members continued to hold events at the house.1WDTN. Fraternity Where Ohio State Student Was Killed Regains University Recognition
Kinte Mitchell Jr., then 18, showed up uninvited with several companions. When Meola and other fraternity members tried to escort the group off the property, a fight broke out in the parking area. Mitchell shot Meola during the confrontation, and Meola died at the scene.2The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus Man Sentenced to Prison for Fatal Shooting of Ohio State Student Outside Frat Party
Columbus police arrested Mitchell soon after and charged him with murder. Rumors of retaliatory gang activity spread on social media in the days that followed, and Columbus police and Ohio State’s Department of Public Safety issued a joint statement saying there were no credible reports of gang retaliation and that a widely shared video actually depicted an unrelated shooting elsewhere in the city.3Ohio State University Department of Public Safety. Update on Public Safety: Clarifying Misinformation Circulating
The Criminal Case Against Kinte Mitchell Jr.
Mitchell initially pleaded not guilty. Nearly three years later, on September 1, 2023, he withdrew that plea and accepted a deal. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a three-year firearm specification, a first-degree felony, along with a third burglary case from January 2020.2The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus Man Sentenced to Prison for Fatal Shooting of Ohio State Student Outside Frat Party
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Brown sentenced Mitchell to an indefinite prison term of 15 to 20½ years covering all four cases and ordered him to pay slightly more than $1,000 in restitution to a burglary victim upon his release.2The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus Man Sentenced to Prison for Fatal Shooting of Ohio State Student Outside Frat Party
Meola’s mother, Margaret Meola, wrote on social media that the family was “not happy with the plea but thought it best to get a guilty decision and not put the eye witnesses through any more trauma.”4The Lantern. Man Who Fatally Shot Student Chase Meola Sentenced After Pleading Guilty
Why Mitchell Was Out on Bond That Night
Mitchell already had an open criminal record when the shooting happened. He had been charged in two February 2020 home burglaries and pleaded guilty to both in July 2020. He was awaiting sentencing when he posted a $185,000 bond on October 8, 2020, three days before he killed Meola.5CW Columbus. OSU Murder Suspect Was Out on Bond at the Time of the Homicide
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said his office intended to investigate how Mitchell had secured release after pleading guilty to two felonies, citing concerns about local bonding practices that included accepting credit cards and monthly payment plans.5CW Columbus. OSU Murder Suspect Was Out on Bond at the Time of the Homicide
The Lawsuit Against Ohio State
The Meola family sued Ohio State in the Ohio Court of Claims for wrongful death and survival, arguing that the university had a special relationship with Chase and bore responsibility for dangerous conditions near campus. On February 17, 2023, Judge Dale Crawford granted the university’s motion to dismiss. He ruled that because the shooting happened at a privately owned, off-campus fraternity house, Ohio State had no duty to protect students from criminal acts by third parties there. The university did not possess or control the property, and the University District is part of the City of Columbus, not the campus.6The Columbus Dispatch. Ohio State University Not Responsible for Student Chase Meola Off-Campus Death, Judge Rules
The family appealed. On October 19, 2023, the Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. The panel held that a university’s disciplinary authority over students is not the same as the physical, actual control required for premises liability, and that Ohio State’s duty to protect students was limited to its own campus and premises under its possession and control.7Supreme Court of Ohio. Meola v. Ohio State Univ., 2023-Ohio-3805
The Lawsuit Against Phi Kappa Psi
In October 2022, the Meola family filed a separate federal suit against Phi Kappa Psi’s national organization and its local Ohio Delta chapter in U.S. District Court. The complaint alleged wrongful death, negligence, and vicarious liability, arguing that the national organization was negligent in supervising a suspended chapter that kept hosting parties and serving alcohol, and that the fraternity failed to guard against known crime in the University District or warn visitors of the risks.8The Lantern. Chase Meola’s Family File Lawsuit Against Phi Kappa Psi Near Anniversary of His Death
Phi Kappa Psi moved to dismiss, arguing that neither the national fraternity nor the house corporation owed a special duty to Meola and that liability for a guest’s death at the hands of an uninvited trespasser would be an extreme extension of premises liability. On March 18, 2024, Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley dismissed all four counts for failure to state a claim, while calling the killing “tragic.”9ABC6. Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Fraternity in Chase Meola Case
What Changed at Ohio State
Meola’s death drove significant changes in how Ohio State handled off-campus safety. Within days of the shooting, the university created a task force on community safety and well-being that included students, faculty, Columbus police, public health professionals, University District residents, and representatives from the Columbus mayor’s office.10The Columbus Dispatch. Ohio State Creates Safety Task Force After Student’s Shooting Death
Ohio State first put more than $1 million into new safety measures and then, in September 2021, committed an additional $20 million over the following decade. The money went to expanded off-campus patrols, mobile lighting and camera systems in student residential areas, an extended Lyft rideshare program, and additional Ohio State police officers for joint off-campus coverage.11The Ohio State University. Ohio State Announces Additional $20 Million for Safety and Security
A parent-led group called Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State formed after the shooting, founded by parents Angela Fredriksson, Irene Hendrick, and Allyson Reid. The group grew to roughly 4,300 Facebook members, raised over $30,000 for billboard and mobile advertising with slogans like “College should not be a crime scene!”, and pushed for free nighttime ridesharing, pressure on off-campus landlords, and safety-focused town halls.12The Lantern. Parent-Funded Billboard Urges University to Increase Safety, Crime Prevention Measures
Despite the shooting and ongoing litigation, Phi Kappa Psi’s Ohio Delta chapter regained official Ohio State recognition on March 7, 2023, nearly five years after its 2018 suspension, subject to a risk management plan, community service, program-attendance rules, and monthly reporting.1WDTN. Fraternity Where Ohio State Student Was Killed Regains University Recognition
Who Chase Meola Was
Meola grew up in Mahwah, New Jersey, where he played cornerback on Mahwah High School’s 2015 championship football team. At Ohio State, he was a fifth-year marketing major at the Fisher College of Business and was pursuing an MBA. Friends described him as a “light in everyone’s life” who wanted to work on Wall Street.13NJ.com. College Student From NJ Killed in Ohio Shooting Remembered as Light in Everyone’s Life He is survived by his parents, Paul and Margaret, and his brothers, Michael and Dylan.
In spring 2021, the Ohio State Board of Trustees awarded Meola a posthumous Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a memorial was established on the Fisher College of Business campus.14The Lantern. Ohio State Remembers Chase Meola With Memorial on Fisher College of Business Campus Margaret Meola has continued to speak publicly through Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State, urging parents and students not to “wait until your child is a victim to get involved.”4The Lantern. Man Who Fatally Shot Student Chase Meola Sentenced After Pleading Guilty