News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, October 17, 2025

Muskingum University Shooter Admits Guilt

(ZANESVILLE, OHIO)

On October 17, 2025, Franklin J. Grayson, 29, of Jacksonville, Florida, appeared in the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas to admit guilt to several charges that stem from Grayson shooting an Olivet College baseball player at Muskingum University.

Grayson admitted guilt to the following charges:

Count 1. Attempted Murder

Counts 2,4. Felonious Assault

Counts 3,5. Felonious Assault

Counts 6,7. Improperly Discharging a Firearm at or into a School Safety Zone

Count 8. Inducing Panic

Count 9. Carrying a Concealed Weapon

Count 11. Tampering with Evidence

For these charges Grayson is facing greater than 35 years in prison. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.



Case Details:

On March 17, 2023, the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the Muskingum University of New Concord in response to a shooting. Upon arriving, the victim was identified and found to have three (3) gunshot wounds. The victim, a baseball player from Olivet College, fortunately survived the random attack.

The victim told detectives that when the game finished, he made his way into the Olivet charter bus with the rest of the team. Soon after, he realized that he couldn’t find his sweatshirt and returned to the dugout alone to search for it.

As the victim made his way back Grayson walked up to him, pulled a gun from his sweatshirt and shot the victim two separate times. As the victim began to run towards the bus he was shot for a third time.

While he could describe his attacker, the victim had no idea who shot him.

As he was leaving the area of the shooting, New Concord residents observed the suspect quickly removing his clothing. New Concord police officers found and apprehended the suspect, who matched the description provided by numerous witnesses. They observed mud on his shoes and clothing, and noted his heavy breathing. The man arrested was identified as Franklin J. Grayson.

Almost immediately local businesses and community members in the New Concord area came forth with video surveillance from the day. Law enforcement received videos from gas stations, stores, game footage from WHIZ-TV, the John Glenn International Airport, and home surveillance systems throughout the Muskingum University and surrounding area.

During the investigation by the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, detectives confirmed that Grayson flew into Columbus from Florida the same day of the shooting. Grayson then rented a vehicle from the airport and on his way to New Concord purchased a bicycle. Grayson then hid the vehicle at a local business near the Norwich Interstate exit. Video footage shows Grayson taking the bicycle from the vehicle and riding it to the baseball game.

When detectives located the rental vehicle, they recovered Grayson’s cell phone and an empty gun box.

From the phone, the detectives learned that Grayson had searched for numerous Olivet College baseball games on the away schedule, and had planned to attend a previous game that was cancelled.

Following up, they learned Grayson was a graduate of Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. They learned that Grayson had issues while at the College and it appeared parted ways with the College with negative feelings towards the school.

Detectives followed up by serving search warrants on a storage unit in Florida, and others related to phone data.

The Muskingum County detectives began to assemble a picture of Grayson’s actions and motives in his attack. The investigation showed that Grayson wished to lash out at Olivet College, and that he also developed a detailed plan to commit and then get away with his crime.

He used numerous different tactics to distance himself from being identified in his attack. His first step was to choose to attack the school at an “away” sporting event, distancing himself physically from the campus.

Second, he tried to limit evidence that might show he was near to Muskingum University. He rented a truck and purchased a bike, driving the truck to a gas station near the interstate, miles away from the Muskingum University campus. He left his phone and electronic devices with his car in an effort to fool later investigation into the location of nearby phones.

Grayson then rode the bike to campus and laid in wait for an opportunity to attack. When most of the crowd had cleared out, he found a one-on-one opportunity to attack an Olivet student.

Finally, he targeted a student who did not know him and who he did not know.

He attacked, and then fled on foot.

Assistant Prosecutor John Litle who handled the case stated in court that Grayson “chose the wrong county” to commit his crime. Grayson may have caused panic across the campus with his actions, but the Muskingum University and New Concord community also responded with open eyes, active officers, and a willingness to share timely information that resulted in Grayson’s prompt arrest.

After his arrest, Grayson pretended to have mental health issues as a means of escaping responsibility for his actions. For more than a year he was placed at Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare for restoration of his competency to stand trial. This summer, Judge Kelly Cottrill found that Grayson was “malingering,” which is a technical term meaning that he was faking his mental health issues.

Afterwards, Grayson wanted to plead “not guilty by reason of insanity,” but he refused to cooperate with mental health evaluations related to that plea.

During his plea hearing Friday, Grayson again attempted to claim he did not understand, going so far as to urinate on the courtroom floor. Judge Cottrill was able to determine he was acting knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily, and the hearing proceeded.

“This horrible attack showed the resiliency of the Muskingum University community, and the competence of Muskingum County law enforcement,” according to Litle. “The totally innocent victim recovered from his wounds, and the public has remained, and will remain safe from Mr. Grayson for the foreseeable future.”

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