College didn't learn about I-80 shooting arrest until professor failed to show up

The college where the man charged in the I-80 shootout worked said it didn’t learn of his arrest until he didn’t show up for work at the start of the semester.

Charles Johnston, 60, was arrested on January 11 in eastern Iowa in connection with a shooting along Interstate 80. He has since been charged with attempted murder and assault on a peace officer with a dangerous weapon. He is currently being held on $1 million bond in a Cedar County, Iowa, jail.

“We learned of Johnston’s arrest when he did not show up to the first day of classes on Tuesday, January 16,” a Harper College spokesperson told Local 4 News. “He was scheduled to teach this semester. Johnston was out part of the fall semester on approved leave.”

During a special meeting of the Harper College Board of Trustees on Wednesday evening, “the board voted to immediately discharge” the associate professor from employment at the college. The board meeting included approximately 30 minutes of closed session.

Johnston had been employed by Harper since 1996 and was a full-time faculty member in the psychology department.

Harper College says it is cooperating with Iowa law enforcement authorities.