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UW Student Dies In Halloween Fight

A University of Wyoming student is dead after being injured in a fight at a Laramie Halloween party Saturday morning. 21 year old Joseph McGowan from Lander was struck when he attempted to break up a fight between Dalton Williams, a student from Casper, and an unidentified participant.

McGowan was airlifted to a Colorado hospital with difficulty breathing where he was later pronounced dead. 20 year old Williams has been charged with second-degree murder and is facing up to 20 years in prison. 

Laramie Police Commander Mitchell Cushman says parties, especially when Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday can be especially tricky to manage.

"The party for whatever reason in this incident got out of hand. It’s easy for that to occur on large party nights because people many times just drive around and look for a party to stop, and when they stop they just go there," says Cushman. "So it’s not unusual for people that are throwing parties to get people there that weren’t invited or weren’t planned for."

The same night, another student was hospitalized with injuries after a separate altercation. The student remains hospitalized.

Jordan Giese is a political science major currently working on his bachelor's degree. He has lived in Wyoming all his life but has a focus on both local issues and international stories. He moved to Laramie just last year rediscovering Wyoming and all it has to offer in landspaces, opportunities and people. He has listened to WPR for years and is thrilled to contribute to an important state service and NPR.
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