The October 2015 shooting was the first school shooting in Northern Arizona University’s 116-year history.

Trial was expected to begin this week  for Steven Jones, the former Northern Arizona University student who shot four young men during a melee that spilled onto campus in October 2015.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys culled through questionnaires from prospective jurors on Friday, and jury selection began in earnest Tuesday morning.

An assistant to Coconino County Superior Court Judge Dan Slayton said the judge thought that a jury of 14 — 12 jurors and two alternates — could be impaneled quickly enough to begin opening statements on Wednesday.

The jury questionnaire said that the trial could last as long as five weeks.

Prospective jurors were told to prepare to attend court four days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, beginning April 4 through May 5.

Here are 5 things to know about the trial:

1. Self-defense or first-degree murder? 

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Jones, now 20, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Colin Brough, 20, and aggravated assault for wounding three other students.

The NAU shooting

He claims that he shot in self-defense after a mob of fraternity brothers chased and assaulted him and his friends while they were standing in front of an apartment complex where a party was going on. He ran to his car in a parking lot across the street and on campus, retrieved a gun from the glove compartment and confronted the attackers. He says they charged him and he fired, killing Brough and wounding his roommate, Nick Piring.

Then, as Jones tried to render aid to the wounded youths, he claims, he was jumped by the crowd and fired blindly in the air. Those shots wounded two other students, Nicholas Prato and Kyle Zientek.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, say that Jones was never in danger for his life, and that he returned to the fight with premeditation — and a gun.

To justify the premeditation claim, Deputy Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker told the court, “The defendant then ran to his car, retrieved his gun and then went back to the fight.”

2. What happened the night of the NAU shooting?

The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com have reported extensively on the case through interviews and hundreds of pages of public records.

READ THE REPUBLIC SPECIAL REPORT:Murder or self-defense? What happened the night Colin Brough died

According to those reports, Jones and three friends were walking to his car after attending a party in another apartment complex. When they realized one of the group was no longer with them, they stopped to call him in front of the apartment building where the party was taking place.

The people who lived in the apartment, including Brough and Piring, may have thought Jones and his friends were crashing the party. Or one of Jones’ group may have rung the doorbell as a prank, according to a police report. Whatever triggered the fight, Jones was hit in the face, and the chase began.

3. What gets heard in court

The judge issued several rulings recently on what evidence will and won’t get heard in court.

He will allow an expert to discuss the interaction of alcohol, marijuana and alprazolam, a Valium-like drug, that were in Colin Brough’s bloodstream when he died.

The jury also will be able to hear two of the other victims who had marijuana metabolites in their urine.

4. What the jury won’t hear

Prosecutors were successful in keeping out descriptions of fights and wild parties at the apartment complex, known as “the courtyard,” where the melee began.

The prosecution asked the judge to disallow statements Jones made to a student who took his gun after the shooting. Police reports say Jones told the student he was acting in “self-defense.”

Prosecutors say that “even if uttered within minutes of shooting the four unarmed victims, (the statements) were concocted after a period permitting conscious reflection.”

Still, the judge would not issue a blanket ruling on excluding from the jury everything Jones said to explain himself. Instead, the attorneys are expected to raise the context of any given statement during trial, at which point the judge will decide relevancy.

5. What sentence would Steven Jones face? 

Under Arizona law, if found guilty of premeditated murder, he would face a mandatory sentence of natural life in prison. The jury could come back with a lesser verdict such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, which could carry a prison sentence ranging from a few years to more than 20 years. The jury could also find him not guilty.

As a hedge against leniency, prosecutors filed a motion informing the defense that even if the jury finds Jones guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter, instead of first-degree murder, the prosecution would seek an aggravated, or harsher, sentence because of the pain and suffering inflicted on the victims.

  • Steven Jones' NAU murder trial begins

    Steven Jones’ NAU murder trial begins

  • Steven Jones' trial in NAU shooting: Prosecution's opening statement

    Steven Jones’ trial in NAU shooting: Prosecution’s opening statement

  • Steven Jones' trial in NAU shooting: Defense's opening statement

    Steven Jones’ trial in NAU shooting: Defense’s opening statement

  • Judge rules on evidence in NAU shooting case

    Judge rules on evidence in NAU shooting case

  • Steven Jones weeps as he is granted conditional release until trial

    Steven Jones weeps as he is granted conditional release until trial

  • NAU Shooting Suspect In Court

    NAU Shooting Suspect In Court

  • Body camera video from scene of NAU shooting

    Body camera video from scene of NAU shooting

  • A haunting 911 call received the night of the NAU shooting

    A haunting 911 call received the night of the NAU shooting

  • A 911 call received the night of the NAU shooting

    A 911 call received the night of the NAU shooting

  • 911 calls into NAU Police after shootings

    911 calls into NAU Police after shootings

  • Victim's father: "We got to stop this throughout the country"

    Victim’s father: “We got to stop this throughout the country”

  • Candlelight for Colin Brough

    Candlelight for Colin Brough

  • Prayer vigil for NAU shooting victims

    Prayer vigil for NAU shooting victims

  • Close to home: Students react to NAU shooting

    Close to home: Students react to NAU shooting

  • Witness Dion Harris at Flagstaff Shooting

    Witness Dion Harris at Flagstaff Shooting

  • Reporter Dennis Wagner at the scene of the NAU shooting

    Reporter Dennis Wagner at the scene of the NAU shooting

  • NAU freshman held in shooting that left 1 student dead, 3 wounded

    NAU freshman held in shooting that left 1 student dead, 3 wounded

  • Fatal shooting reported at Northern Arizona University

    Fatal shooting reported at Northern Arizona University

  • Why more school shootings happen in the US than anywhere else

    Why more school shootings happen in the US than anywhere else

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