It's fine. Tonight on 20/20 ` I just got my gun and I just put it in the air. Three people in the hospital; one has passed away. (SOBS, CRIES, PANTS) a tragic start to the school year, a SWAT team searching dormitories when a drunken party of frat boys turns into chaos and killing. (GUNSHOTS RING) You begin to see people on the ground here. Yes. The boy is left screaming, 'Stop shooting! Stop shooting!' On the ground. On the ground! Every scene caught on police body cams. I'm so scared. Can I call my mom? No random shooter, but this boy ` a fellow student. I immediately knew that this was a big story. Their 20-year-old son, dead. Everything stops... around you. Everything. So you're in the second floor of the building. Tonight, reporting from the crime scene,... He was just cold-copped, unprovoked, hit in the face. ...to the interrogation room... Why would they even try to chase me? (CRIES) Why did they do this to me? I don't know, Matt. ...to the court room. He was bullied, threatened and attacked. There was no threat to his safety. In fact, with that gun in his hand, he was the most deadly person in sight. But was it self-defence or retaliation? You have been portrayed as a bunch of aggressors or bullies before everybody was hammered. We're not those type of people. What will the jury decide? If they're gonna overpower you, what would you do? Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017 Kia ora. I'm Carolyn Robinson. Welcome to 20/20. Tonight ` as more Kiwi families look to America for their children's university education, here's a question not many of us would think to ask ` 'Are guns allowed on campus?' Well, they are at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and that's a key part in tonight's story. A night of drinking leads to a chance encounter on campus; a verbal fight escalates; shots are fired, and a young man loses his life. But was it murder or self-defence? Here's reported Matt Gutman. (UNSETTLING MUSIC) Its motto is, 'The world looks different from here.' And it does. Northern Arizona University sits 7000 ft in the air, surrounded by the snow-capped San Francisco Peaks and the Ponderosa Pine Forest here in Flagstaff, Arizona ` plenty of wide open spaces for any kid looking to strike out on his own. There's so much to do. You have Sedona, Grand Canyon, the mountains. Flagstaff is really homey. It's got a comfortable, welcoming feel to it. NAU ` same thing. I mean, Flagstaff and NAU, they're not separate; it's just all one big community, I'd say. NAU is one of three state schools in Arizona. It's got about 20,000 students, but it has a very close-knit feel among the students on campus. One of those students who arrives as a freshman in the fall of 2013 is 18-year-old Colin Brough, here to study business. And how did he come to choose NAU? He applied to CSU, Boulder and NAU. Yeah. And NAU was the furthest away, so that's why he picked that one. Because he wanted to be away from home, just wanted to be on his own and independent. Colin is the second of the three sons of Claudia and Doug Brough, and they drop him off 10 and a half hours away from their Colorado home, but certain that at least in this idyllic place, he'll be safe. Looking around this campus, can you tell why he liked it so much, why he was so attracted to it here? Well, it's a great community. It's a beautiful community. At first, it seems Colin is suffering from the all-too familiar fall freshman blues. He would always kid me, 'I'm not gonna be homesick. I can't wait to go.' But two months later,... 'Mom!' ...'I think I made a mistake. I wanna come home.' But the jitters start to fade once Colin begins making friends, like fellow freshman Nick Piring. We became random roommates freshman year in the dorms. I met his family the first day. Just became really close right off the bat. Would you say he was your best friend? One of my best friends, for sure. Definitely. We ended up rushing the fraternity second semester. Kyle Zientek also meets Colin at that fraternity. Well, you're smiling; you're grinning, so... Yeah, just thinking about the kid's heart, honestly; the smirk that he always had too, was, I don't know. That kid had something, just about him. The boys join the Delta Chi fraternity at NAU ` a school where Greek life is big on campus ` the people, the programs and, of course, the parties. Parties like this one, shot by an NAU student. That's the part that worries Colin's parents. What was your impression? I kept thinking, like, Animal house. (GLASS SHATTERS) # Louie, Louie, oh... # Cos that's all I really knew. That paints a picture. I wasn't happy about it. But I told him he could make those decisions. And that was your whole philosophy bringing up the kids, right? 'When you're in my house, I'm gonna to take care of you; you're gonna be safe. But when you go off to college,... ...you're gonna explore; you're gonna make mistakes that you're gonna live by. By sophomore year, Colin and his friend Nick move off-campus to this apartment complex known as 'The Courtyard.' It's a popular spot for Delta Chi, housing several of their fraternity brothers and is conveniently located just across the street from NAU. We had the whole little courtyard, so we could go out there, maybe, you know, just get together, play some beer games or something. It had sort of a reputation at the time for being a place to party and hang out. Police were often visiting the courtyard, getting noise complaints, getting complaints of students drinking. Were you concerned that Colin would go off to college and start just partying his face off? I was always concerned about that, and, of course, I didn't like it. But I knew in the end he would get it out. But before he would get the opportunity to do that, tragedy strikes on campus. NAU has been in existence for 118 years, and for 116 of those years, there had never been a shooting on campus. That changed on the night of October 9th 2015. The night starts out like so many others ` with a party at The Courtyard. What are you guys doing that night? We're just hanging out. Just a couple people drinking; it's Thursday night. It wasn't anything crazy. Do you guys even know what` No, I` ...started everything? No, I don't know what happened and how it started. Around 1am, Kyle and Nick, along with several other people at the party say they hear what sounds like an argument going on right in front of the courtyard. It wasn't a memorable night ` I mean, until everything went south. Zach Volpo and Nick Pletke are also Delta Chi brothers who are at the party that night. There's a verbal confrontation going on on the street. All of the sudden I see the group move into the parking lot. That's when I saw the flashlight flick on. Do you remember ever seeing the gun? I remember seeing a light. I thought it was a security guard or a cop or something. I had no idea. I look down for a second, and all of the sudden I hear three, four loud` really, really loud bangs. (GUNSHOTS ECHO) I thought it was fireworks or something. Zach runs across the street, into the NAU parking lot and he's horrified. Colin Brough and Nick Piring are down, both of them bleeding on the ground, each of them shot twice. I was in so much shock, I had no idea. And so I saw a puddle of blood next to me. The only person I didn't recognize was the one standing, and I realised that he was the gunman. Immediately turned around, book it back, try to find some cover. I saw this blinding light. It kind of clicked with me that something's not right. The shooter fires off several more rounds, this time hitting Delta Chi brother Nick Prato, and Kyle Zientek. How do you get shot in the back? I turned around when I saw that light. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground and it's just` it's like all numb. (PAINFUL MOANS) Is there an ambulance coming? When we come back ` how did a college party turn into a war zone? As police arrive, they confront the teenage shooter. Body cameras capture all the action. I'm so scared. Can I call my mom? And you'll be shocked when you learn just who that shooter is when 20/20 returns. (URGENT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Welcome back to 20/20. Tonight we're looking into the tragic shooting at an American university and the shockwaves it caused. As A Chance Encounter continues, a party at the Northern Arizona University has turned deadly; shots have been fired; four students lie on the ground. Police have arrived, but when they arrest the gunman, there's a surprise in store. Here's Matt Gutman. WOMAN ON PHONE: There's a guy outside, and he's shooting people. My boyfriend's shot in the neck! We have a shooter. One male, actively shooting. I copy, he is bleeding. Is our suspect in custody? There's people down. I didn't know what was going on until I realised I was bleeding out on the floor. (GUNSHOTS ECHO) Had you ever seen a gun on campus? No, I've never seen a gun on campus until that night. Are there any smells or sounds that you remember? Um, screaming. I know there was a lot of commotion. (INDISTINCT, PANICKED SHOUTS ON RT) ROARS: This is not fair! In that first blast of gunfire, junior Colin Brough ` a shot in the chest and in the shoulder; and Nick Piring ` a shot in the shoulder and the hip. I could see Colin from where I was yelling, '911! Someone call 911.' The parking lot where the shooting took place, there's a dormitory that overlooks it, and a lot of people had their windows open, so they could hear what was happening. (OVERLAPPING PANICKED VOICES) So you are second floor up, second window in, right there? Yes. Mm-hm. OK. I mean, that's as close as you can get. Yes. That's within spitting distance. The gunshots were pretty apparent. Miqui Scollard, a sophomore at NAU, jumps from her bed and runs down to the parking lot, into a crowd she doesn't know, with bullets still flying. You begin to see people on the ground here. Yes, and the first person I see is Nick. He's laying here, and I'm like, 'Where are you hit?' He's like, 'My shoulder.' And I see his shirt, and he's got a pretty big bullet wound there, so I put my left arm` my left palm on his shoulder. What Miqui doesn't quite realise is that at this moment, the shooter is still on the scene, right behind her. And before you know it, there was more gunshots. So you were literally administering first aid to somebody who had been shot,... Yes. ...and then you hear gunshots behind you? And I hear gunshots again, and I said, 'He's still shooting. Don't move, don't scream.' That is when the two fraternity brothers Nick Prato and Kyle Zientek were hit. Afterwards I remember looking to my left, and the boys that I now know from the shooting were screaming, 'Stop shooting! Stop shooting!' I remember one saying, 'He dropped the gun. He dropped the gun.' Before you knew it, we had officers on all of us with guns in our faces. Male subject armed with unknown firearm. Code three. NAU Police begin arriving with body cameras rolling. I've got one here with a gunshot wound to the chest. Every second of the aftermath is caught on tape. Check that kid back there. (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) Multiple victims. MAN SHOUTS: I need an ambulance! I'm gonna need three or four ambulances at least. This video shows the chaos still unfolding ` the young boys bleeding, lying shot on the ground, Miqui Scollard applying pressure to Nick Piring's wounds. (URGENT CHATTER) Is she hit? And on the other side right there, a quick glimpse of a frantic 18-year-old on the ground, but this one is being handcuffed. On the ground! On the ground. Please go help them officer, please. Please. Please go help them. I'm so sorry, please. Please go help them. Help me. I'm so scared. I have one detained. He identified himself as the shooter. The hysterical student on that body cam is NAU freshman Steven Jones. He had only been on campus a few weeks. Please. I'm so scared. I want my mom. Step up. Is your name Steven? Yes, sir. Have a seat. (PANTS, SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Just have a seat. Have a seat. Have a seat. (GROANS, MOANS) It's just a very, very raw moment, which obviously he probably doesn't know he's being recorded. I have the suspect in the back of my car right there. Someone needs to stay with him. You identified yourself to me as the only, as the shooter. Nobody else. None of my friends. There's nobody else involved? No, nobody but me. I take all the responsibility. OK. So you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to the presence of a... Officers begin securing the scene, searching through the nearby dorm. And outside, paramedics work to save the four badly injured college students. I was just looking up into the sky, just screaming in pain. What were you able to see? I could just see Colin in the rocks at that point and just unconscious. I remember yelling at the paramedics to go help him. Don't worry about me; worry about him! (CRIES) He's not breathing! I guess there was nothing they could do for him, so... 20-year-old Colin Brough lay dead on the ground, while his three fraternity brothers are raced to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. But in the back of that squad car, the suspect, Steven Jones, isn't acting like a deranged rampage shooter ` more like a distraught kid,... Oh my God. (CRIES) How bad are they? Hang on. I don't know yet. ...repeatedly begging for his mom. I'm so scared. Can I call my mom? We'll call your mom for you. We just got to figure all this stuff out first, OK? Stand by with me. 500 miles away, in Colorado, another mother and father are about to get devastating news. We really never talk about that day together. Even to each other? Mm-mm. Our youngest, Doug, came down, and he had gotten a text that there was a shooting at NAU. First thing I did was text him. What time is this? 6.23 in the morning. You remember the exact time of day. Mm-hm. I called the Flagstaff Police, and they said the NAU Police were handling it. So I got to the NAU person that was handling it, and... (CLEARS THROAT) and she told me Colin had passed. It was just like a bad dream, and I kept thinking, 'This isn't real. Like, this isn't` This can't be.' And then what's your next move? Do you try to fly right away to Flagst`? You don't move. You` Oh. You don't move. Everything stops around you. Everything. While Claudia and Doug Brough descend into a paralysis of pain, the community of Flagstaff is reeling, trying to understand how this could happen here and why. Did you know at the time, that night, that it was a student... No. ...who had done the shooting? I had no idea. Come on out. But it is a student, and when he's led into a police interrogation room,... You just have a seat over there in that chair. ...cameras continue to roll. The college freshman, with blood on his hands, literally. (HYPERVENTILATES) That's fine. The gunman's story and the blurred lines between murder and self-defence ` that's when 20/20 returns. (URGENT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Welcome back. On 20/20 tonight, the tragic story of a university shooting and a look at the blurred lines between self-defence and murder. As A Chance Encounter resumes, University of Northern Arizona student Colin Brough is dead. His mother and father are going through every parent's worst nightmare. But the gunman is not who anyone expected ` he's a scared 18-year-old. Here's reporter Matt Gutman. As the sun rises over the city of Flagstaff, the media descends. One person dead and a gunman in custody after a shooting on campus in Northern Arizona University. This is not going to be a normal day at NAU. All the victims involved are NAU college students. I immediately knew that this was a big story. This wasn't your traditional school shooting; this was different. The shooter is 18-year-old Steven Jones. He identified himself to police right at the scene. Steven Jones had only been on campus about three weeks. School had just started. Watch the stairs. He'd grown up in a middle-class family, suburb of Phoenix, homeschooled by his mother, was having some trouble, apparently, adjusting to college but was just beginning to make some friends. Just have a seat over there in that chair. The distraught teenager is led into a tiny interrogation room, still handcuffed,... Can you put my hair out of my face, please? ...shaken. Can you leave me alone? And when he's finally able to see the blood on his hands,... (HYPERVENTILATES) That's fine. ...horror at what they have allegedly done. Put your hands together like this. (SOBS) There we go. Perfect. (CRIES) (HANDCUFFS CLICK) (SOBS) What happened tonight? I don't think I should answer that without calling my dad first. At first reluctant, Steven begins to describe a night that started out pretty tamely ` he and some friends at another student's place off-campus. There were girls and the video game Guitar Hero. Did you guys imbibe on any alcoholic beverages? The girls were. They had beers. I had a sip of my friend's beer, but I knew that I was driving and I couldn't afford to. Jones says that after about a half an hour, he and three of his freshmen buddies ` Jacob, Shay and Hunter ` want to head back to campus. He says they started walking towards Jones' red Mustang parked in that lot across the street from the courtyard, where that frat party, by now, is in full swing. But along the way, Jones says, they lose track of their friend Hunter. So the three freshmen are walking down here. I went back to the scene with retired Dallas Police Chief and ABC News consultant David Brown. They lost a friend; they go knocking on that door. Seems pretty innocent to me. Suddenly, 12 dudes came out. They started, like, talking (BLEEP). 'Get the (BLEEP) off our porch.' And then we just decided to turn around and walk away. There's one person who seems to be the lead aggressor, at least verbally. Colin Brough is what witnesses are saying is kind of the, you know, leader of the pack. What were they saying? 'I'm gonna kill you, (BLEEP). Bet you couldn't fight. You go back to the freshman dorms.' They were obviously very drunk. Toxicology reports will later prove that Colin Brough was in fact very drunk ` more than three times the legal limit ` and he also tested positive for marijuana and for Xanax. These guys are retreating. They're backing up. Right. And it gets uglier and uglier, until somewhere around here. This is where everything changes. Right. Steven Jones gets cold-copped, unprovoked, hit in the face. ...(BLEEP) like rocked my world. I had no idea what was going on. My glasses fell off. I could barely see. Now, it's not clear who did throw that punch, but eye witnesses all later confirmed that it was not Colin Brough. A reasonable person might think, 'Yes, I might be seriously injured now. 'And so now, I'm taking off running toward my car, trying to get away.' And that's exactly what he does. Jones tells police that as he retreats toward his red Mustang, he's pursued, chased into the parking lot. Police ask him to draw a map of his movements. So I started from here. They were right behind me. SOBS: I was gonna die. Now, your perceptions may be off-kilter, because you've just been cold-copped, and maybe you think people are closer than they are, maybe you're hearing noises louder than they really are. It can be that extreme when you're in fight or flight mode. Although he's able to get the doors unlocked, Steven says, in his panic, he can't find his other key ` the one that goes into the car's ignition. And that's the moment, Jones says, when he opens the glove compartment, pulls out his Glock 22 handgun and gets out of the car. I turn on the flashlight and I point it at him, and I said, 'I have a gun. Don't (BLEEP) move.' And then... (WHIMPERS, WAILS) (SOBS) Where were those two guys at that time? I was right here by my car. And he said, 'I'ma (BLEEP)ing kill you,' and two more ran at me as fast as they could. Those two guys would turn out to be Colin Brough and Nick Piring. Jones says he was standing 2ft or 3ft in front of his car when he pulled the trigger. He was running at me. He was staring right at me. He was saying he was gonna kill me. I felt scared for my life. Jones says after shooting, Colin and Nick, the rest of the frat guys in the parking lot, descend on him, pummelling him on the ground. I` I` I got my gun and then I just shot it in the air. I wasn't trying to hurt anybody. I wasn't even aiming at anybody. How many rounds did you fire? I dunno. I just remembered my training. My dad trained me. He tells police his father, an NRA-certified instructor, taught him to shoot at an early age. I was trained to fire until it's not necessary to any more. And these photos from his social media accounts certainly paint the picture of a boy and his guns. But as it turns out, Steven Jones was not breaking the law by having that gun locked in his car on campus. The state universities don't permit guns on campus, with the exception of state law allows you to keep a gun in your car as long as it's not visible and it's locked up. It's a detail that Colin's dad, Doug, just can't get past. If there wasn't a gun on campus ` period ` we aren't sitting here; Colin's sitting here. And that's what we have to change. All learning institutions should be weapon-free. Back in that interrogation room, after more than two hours of questioning, at 4.40 in the morning, officers break the news to Jones about what happened to the boys he shot. Three people in the hospital; one has passed away. (SOBS, WHIMPERS) (POIGNANT MUSIC) (WHIMPERS) (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY, SOBS) His self-defence story notwithstanding, officers photograph Jones' injuries. His clothes are collected, and in a white, disposable jumpsuit, the freshman, who had been on campus less than a month, is led off to jail, charged with first degree murder. (ALL SING INDISTINCTLY) As a college campus mourns one of its own and a family prepares to bury a son, another family is preparing to mount a defence. Coming up ` the trial of Steven Jones, with the college students he shot squaring off against him. The interesting thing about this trial was just how so many young people testify, one after the other. Why don't prosecutors believe his story of self-defence? As compelling as he is in this interrogation tape, talking about how scared he was and why he did why he did, the authorities clearly believe they know something more. So what is it police believe they know? We'll find out when 20/20 returns right after this break. (URGENT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Welcome back to 20/20 and tonight's story about a chance encounter that left a young man dead. As Matt Gutman continues this story, 18-year-old first year university student Steven Jones is about to stand trial for the shooting of fellow University of Northern Arizona student, Colin Brough. Jones and his family say it was self-defence. The police and prosecutors believe he's hiding something and that he's guilty of murder. Here's the evidence. The evidence in the Steven Jones case ` crime scene photos, bullet casings, that 9mm Glock 22 with its attachable flashlight ` So that's what it would look like. all pieces of a puzzle that prosecutors hope will convince a jury that Steven Jones was not in fear for his life when he fired his gun but is, in fact, guilty of first degree murder. Things are quickly getting underway at the NAU shooting trial. He has pleaded 'not guilty'. What is indisputable is that Jones' action that night left one young man dead and three others with injuries, both physical and emotional. (INDISTINCT RT CHATTER) We've talked about and we've shared feelings and stuff, but we don't talk about that night in particular. It's not something we really want to... keep on the forefront of our minds. But at trial, they'll be forced to confront what happened that night. In their opening statements, prosecutors and defence attorneys paint dramatically different pictures of what happened in that NAU parking lot. To the victim, the defendant was an assassin emerging from the darkness, and they had no chance to protect themselves before the defendant unloaded 10 rounds from his gun. Prosecutor Ammon Barker argues Steven Jones was a calculating, cold-blooded killer. The question for you during this trial will be ` what was the defendant's intent when he shot these four unarmed victims? It is a question the defence is eager to answer in its opening statement. This is a case about an 18-year-old kid who found himself in a situation where he was surrounded, bullied, threatened and attacked and did what he had to do to protect himself. When the testimony begins, it does little to clarify what actually happened that night or even how it all started. People had vastly different stories of what they remembered or they saw or how many people were involved. And remember ` some of those young people were impaired that night, making memories murky. Describe how many people you think you saw out there. I wanna say I saw about four or five. Probably around eight people. Do you recall how many shots? Maybe two. I believe it was three to four. And this theme of contradicting accounts will be a recurring one throughout the entire trial. Take the testimony of Jacob Mike, one of the two freshman friends who was with Steven Jones that night. I saw people fall on the ground and then the light panned over me, I guess, and I put my hands up, and I was like, 'It's me, it's me. Jacob.' What were you thinking? I was scared. Of who? Um,... Steven. He says he never thought his life was being threatened by those drunken fraternity boys. But on cross-examination, defence attorneys remind him of a 911 call he made where he sounds terrified. I was just hysterics and out of` out of my mind, I guess. Then there are the three surviving victims. Nick Piring testifies first, saying he never heard his friend Colin threaten Steven Jones or saw him lunge at him. He also tells jurors that he witnessed Colin get gunned down and it was only at that point that he ran towards him. But there's a problem with Nick's testimony, and the defence zeroes in. You told police a pretty different story that night, didn't you? What did I tell them? You told them that you ran up because you were trying to calm people down. Correct? Correct. In fact, you told the police that you were, to use your words, mainly trying to calm Colin down. Isn't that what you said? That is correct. Next on the stand is Nick Prato. He was shot in the neck during that second wave of gunfire and testifies he witnessed both Colin and Nick Piring also get shot. Right after I watched Colin get shot, Nick Piring jumped in the air, and that's when I saw Nick Piring, mid-air, get hit. But the defence lawyers score another point, highlighting an inconsistency from his original police interview. They read back his own words, where he never mentions seeing anyone get shot. Well, let's take a look. 'It was hard it was hard to make out. 'Once I heard the gunshots, of course I was looking over there to see what the hell happened.' You didn't say anything about him getting shot, did you? No, I did not. The defence is trying to do two things here ` number one, highlight inconsistencies in these fraternity brothers' stories; and number two, try and make their actions, their movements seem as menacing as possible. And that brings us to Kyle Zientek, the last of the gunshot victims to take the stand. He tells jurors he was shot twice while running away from Steven Jones. But the defence has the goods yet again. Listen to what he told police. You were asked, 'So in other words, were you running towards the shooter or away from the shooter?' Yes. Could you please read your response to the jury? 'I think I was running towards the shooter to get his gun.' Three key witnesses tripped up on cross-examination. But the most dramatic moment of the trial is still ahead. When we come back, what you almost never see. The defendant, Steven Jones, takes the stand in his own defence. Hello. My name is Steven Jones. Hear what he hopes will convince a jury that he is a victim, not a murderer. So, what will Steven Jones have to say? Stay with us to find out. (URGENT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Welcome back. Tonight on 20/20, a difficult, polarising story about a college shooting in America. A first year student at Northern Arizona University ` 18-year-old Steven Jones ` finds himself on trial for the murder of fellow student Colin Brough. And it's a trial that continues to surprise, and another one is coming. The defendant himself will take the stand to explain his actions. Here's Matt Gutman. The NAU student who opened fire on other students, taking the stand... It is day seven in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Steven Jones may be either feeling lucky or desperate ` because he's about to do something rarely seen at a first degree murder trial ` Your honour, the defence calls Steven Jones. Right. take the stand in his own defence. When Steven Jones was called to the witness stand, it was incredibly quiet in court. You could hear a pin drop. Hello. My name is Steven Jones. Jones begins by recounting for the jury about that scuffle in the street that turned deadly. They were screaming and yelling and stuff, and the next thing I know, I just got punched. It just rocked my world. What's the very next thing you remember? As I was getting back up, I felt someone behind me try to grab the back of my shirt, and I started running. They were saying stuff like, 'Get the (BLEEP) back here. What the (BLEEP) are you scared of?' He says he gets to his car, makes that split second decision to grab his gun and gets back out. They were running as fast as they could, full force, looking me dead in the eye. And then what's the very next thing that you remember? I... I` I fired... my gun. I knew that if I'd waited even another split second, I would get seriously hurt or die. The parents of the boy who did die are apoplectic in the courtroom. It was hard. It was hard for me to even be in that room, and you could just see how cold... and just... almost removed he was. Kind of like the video game. But did any part of you think, 'Man, he's also a kid. He's 18 years old. He's a child'? Oh. I said that. Yeah. I said his life was ruined as well. And Jones' story on the stand isn't holding water for some others who are in courtroom listening ` namely, his victims. Nobody deserved to die that night, period. But would you say that Colin was the aggressor? No, I wouldn't say that. No. I wouldn't even say it was an aggressive situation. It was a verbal argument ` from what I could see. The people who say that Steven Jones was just defending himself against a bunch of bullying frat guys... That's his defence. Never even saw the kid until he came back with a gun, so... And when it's the prosecution's turn to cross-examine Steven Jones, they hammered him on the critical question of intent. You were going to kill someone because you thought you were going to be killed, correct? No, it was never my goal to kill someone. What do you think happens when you shoot someone in the chest (?) They get seriously hurt. That's what you think happens every time (?) Sometimes people who get shot in the chest die. Right. And then taking a page right out of the defence attorney's playbook, they press him on exactly where he was when he fired his gun, returning to this police interview. I got out of the car and stood in front of my car maybe 2ft, 3ft, right in front of the door. 2ft or 3ft, he says, but the evidence shows that after getting out of his car, he actually walks over 90ft towards Colin Brough before, he says, Colin charged him. Back in that parking lot, I saw for myself just how far Steven Jones actually travelled from his car. It was over 90ft between him and the next closest person. Big difference between a couple of steps and 90ft. And that takes some time to cover. Yes. That's significant ground to cover. Right. This is a lot of distance between where he was feeling pressure,... Right. It's seconds. ...and where the next person was that would've been on top of him. And even if you're running that, that takes some time. Yes. The authorities clearly believe that he went those 90ft in order to exact revenge ` to kill someone ` not, they believe, just to defend himself. I didn't know how far away they were at the time. All right, but you kept saying to the officers that you were right in front of your car, right? Correct. And you say that again and again. So each time you were describing that, you were just wrong about it, right? Correct. Putting a defendant on a stand is always a risk. And when he has to admit a mistake, an error, on a really important issue, that's a real danger for the defence. Before Steven Jones leaves the stand, his own attorneys are hoping to leave the jury with one lingering exchange. Steven, if you didn't fire your gun that night, you believe you'd be sitting here today? No. Day eight ` closing arguments. The defence implores jurors to put themselves in Jones' shoes. If you're being tackled by a group of guys like this ` drunk, outnumbered you; they're clearly trying to get your gun; you don't have much more time before they're gonna overpower you ` what would you do? And they remind the jury that under Arizona law, Steven is justified in using deadly force if it is to protect himself from being seriously injured or killed. But prosecutor Ammon Barker tells jurors Jones' story is riddled with lies for one reason ` because he's trying to bolster a bogus self-defence claim. We know he was punched in the face. But what he did afterwards has nothing to do with self-defence and everything to do with retaliation. Jurors head out to begin deliberations. And as the hours, then the days pass, five families are left to wait and to worry. I know you're not in the mind frame of blaming. The parents. You blame`? I blame the parents. I blame the parents. He was a young kid. He was taught to shoot silhouettes ` not even tin cans, like you would think, if you were teaching a kid. But this was the way he was raised, and he did what he was trained to do. It was supposed to be judgment day for 20-year-old Steven Jones, facing life in prison, if convicted of first degree murder. But after five days of deliberations, the jury of six men and six women files back in with a shock for the court. The jury has indicated that you do not feel that additional deliberations or assistance will help you in reaching a verdict. Is this correct? The jury is hopelessly deadlocked. This court is therefore going to declare a mistrial in this case. Some breaking news coming in out of Flagstaff. They tried but just couldn't agree. It's an inconceivable blow to Claudia and Doug Brough. Disbelief. Really just disbelief. Like, how could they hear all the evidence and not come back with a guilty verdict? The key issues was ` did the state prove beyond reasonable doubt that Steven Jones committed a crime? Juror Robert Nagle spoke only to 20/20 after the mistrial. In my opinion, the state did not prove their case. When the jury first voted, most believed Steven Jones was guilty of a crime; they just couldn't agree on what crime. Some thought first-degree murder; some thought second-degree murder; some weren't sure. But Nagle says he and several of his fellow jurors actually found Steven Jones to be a more credible witness on the stand than the fraternity brothers. I believe once Colin Brough and Nick Piring came toward Steven Jones, he had the right to protect himself. And for that, he says, he believes Jones was justified in using deadly force. Steven Jones had absolutely no choice but to shoot Colin Brough. When I asked the question, 'Hey, who would've shot these boys 'in this situation,' four of us said we would. By the end of deliberations, he says the jury was evenly split. Prosecutors intend to try Steven Jones again, hoping they'll have better luck with a new jury. But the young men who survived that night are ready to move on. A lot of us wanna forget about it. I mean, obviously not forget about Colin and all that, but we kinda wanna forget about... I don't know. Just move past it, I guess I should say. Have you prepared yourselves for the possibility that Steven Jones` We're not going there yet. ...may walk free? No. No. I do not believe that in my heart for one minute. No. No. Mm-m. No, I believe that... justice will prevail so this doesn't happen to anyone else. That retrial is scheduled to begin later this month. 20/20 contacted Steven Jones and his family, but they declined to speak before that trial. Well, that's our show for tonight. Thank you for joining us. Kia ora. Nga mihi. Captions by Glenna Casalme