Oberlin professor and woman found shot dead in Shipherd Circle home

Oberlin police are investigating a double shooting that killed a longtime college professor and a woman inside a residence on Wednesday morning.

The incident began around 8:57 a.m. when officers responded to the Oberlin College Conservatory lot to assist fire crews with a vehicle that was smoking and possibly on fire. Police officers spent the next hour and twenty minutes locating the owner of that vehicle. At approximately 10:19 a.m., they found a 47-year-old woman in the 200 block of Shipherd Circle and took her into custody.

Minutes later, at 10:28 a.m., officers went to 33 South Pleasant Street to check on the welfare of the suspect's family. Inside the home, they discovered two people who had been shot and killed. The male victim was found on the first floor. The female victim was found on the second floor.

Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar identified the male victim as Pipo Nguyen-Duy, a 64-year-old professor of studio art and photography. Ambar noted that Nguyen-Duy had taught at the institution since 1998. She described him as a cherished colleague and a native of Vietnam who immigrated to the United States as a political refugee in 1975.

Ambar stated that police asked the college to issue a shelter-in-place order following the discovery of the bodies. That order was lifted after law enforcement confirmed there was no danger to the campus or the wider community. The college announced that mental health resources would be made available to students, faculty, and staff affected by the death.

Nguyen-Duy was an internationally exhibited artist who earned numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and held various residencies. His career at Oberlin spanned nearly three decades before this incident.

Oberlin police said the investigation remains open. The 47-year-old woman taken into custody near the conservatory lot is the primary suspect in the case.