(TNS) — More than two hours into a public meeting Wednesday night, Erie City Council President Mel Witherspoon launched into personal story and said he shot someone in the head in college and got away with it.

“I shot him in the head point blank this close,” Witherspoon said, putting his hand up to his head. “I stayed in jail one night. I never went to court.”

Witherspoon said one of his uncles from his hometown in New Jersey was connected with the mafia and got him out of the Nebraska jail.

The shooting of the student athlete happened in his dorm room at a junior college, he said. He was at the college from 1962-1964.

He told the shocking story after hours of community questioning about the controversial death of 43-year-old Marchello Woodward, who was shot by a state parole agent on July 2. Witherspoon said he didn’t go to a rally for Woodward or his funeral because it brought back painful memories of the dorm shooting and his brother’s death.

Witherspoon said his brother was shot with a double-barrel shotgun by the mafia in Jersey City when Witherspoon was 17 in the early 1960s. He left Newark to start a better life, going to Scottsbluff Junior College in Nebraska to play football and basketball. He said at the time, you could buy a gun with no paper necessary.

“The tackle, good guy, nice guy, and the guys came to my room and we got high. They left, I had the clip in my gun. Nick came in my room. I said ‘You know, Nick, I can blow your head off.’ He said ‘Go ahead.’ And I did,” Witherspoon said at the meeting.

The student, Nicholas Harry Deligianis, did not die from the gunshot wound to his face and went on to live until he was 76. PennLive found an Aug. 29, 1962 newspaper article that said the youths told the police chief it was an accident, and that “Witherspoon was playing with the gun when it discharged.” At the time, it listed the 18-year-old in “good condition.”

Deligianis’s obituary said he received high school All-American honors but “his football career was cut short by a campus accident while at college in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.” Deligianis went on to start a family and was a professional motorcycle mechanic.

Council member Kathy Schaaf participated in the meeting remotely because she was out of state. Schaaf told PennLive she had no comment on the shooting specifically, but Witherspoon’s story didn’t surprise her because she’s heard it before.

“I know his personal story, and that is true,” Schaaf said. “He has definitely overcome all the tragedy of living in a very challenging area. He has given back to the community and he is a dedicated community service person.”

After he finished his retelling, Witherspoon said the point of sharing the story publicly was to show even though he “laid low” after Woodward’s shooting, it’s not because he didn’t care.

Witherspoon said with the Woodward family’s permission, he plans to dedicate his youth basketball league to Woodward next year. He’s been operating the league since 1990. He also said he asked council to cosign a letter asking the District Attorney for more information on Woodward’s death.

The District Attorney said they would share details and the decision once the investigation is complete.

It’s unclear if Witherspoon’s public revelation about the shooting would restart any investigations. But the Nebraska statute of limitations for misdemeanors is 18 months and for most felonies: three years.

Witherspoon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. City officials told PennLive they could not comment on “the story recounted by City Council President Mel Witherspoon,” because they don’t know the context or circumstances.

Witherspoon is originally from Newark, New Jersey, and attended junior college in Nebraska, then came to Erie on a basketball scholarship to Gannon University. He’s been on city council since 1995.

In 2015, a street in the city was renamed “Witherspoon Lane” in honor of his civic contributions. He’s won numerous other regional awards.