An alleged gunman was arrested near the University of North Carolina campus Monday after a faculty member was shot dead and the school was placed on lockdown, officials said.
The campus was locked down around 1 p.m. after UNC Police received a report of shots fired at Caudill Labs, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a message to the school community.
An immediate warning was issued, instructing students and staff to stay inside and avoid windows during the ordeal that lasted several hours.
UNC Police released a photo of the person of interest identified as Tailei Qi.UNC Police
A suspect in police custody after the shooting. Chris Lovingood WRAL / facebook
Responding officers found the slain faculty member, who has not been identified, UNC Police Chief Brian James said during a news conference. No other injuries were reported.
A suspect was arrested at about 2:30 pm with the campus receiving a safe situation around 4:15 pm, the school said.
Although authorities would not identify the suspect during the press conference, sources told WRAL a person of interest in the case has been identified as UNC student Tailei Qi. Images from the station showed a handcuffed man sitting on the side of the road in front of a driveway in a residential area near the campus and also being put into a police car.
A faculty member was reportedly killed in the shooting.Facebook
Police respond to a shooting on the UNC campus.Kaitlin McKeown/The News & Observer via AP
‘Armed and dangerous’
During the emergency, UNC Police released an image of a person of interest they were looking for in an “armed and dangerous situation.”
“If you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911,” police tweeted.
The apparent termination occurred approximately three hours after the initial warning was issued. AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum
“I am deeply saddened and saddened by today’s shooting in one of our campus buildings, a place where we carry out our important work of teaching, mentoring and research every day,” Guskiewicz said in his message.
“This shooting destroys the trust and safety we often take for granted on our campus.”
A motive has yet to be determined, James said. It is also unknown what, if any, relationship the victim and suspect have. The weapon involved has not been detected, he said.
A police helicopter is seen above campus during the lockdown.AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum
People on campus are advised to stay inside and avoid windows.Kaitlin McKeown/The News & Observer via AP
An ambulance arrives on campus.AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum
“We want to make sure that we put every piece together to determine what happened today and why it happened,” James said, warning that the investigation would take several weeks.
The tension on campus was palpable during the lockdown, with officers arriving en masse and about 50 police vehicles and several helicopters arriving on campus.
At one point, an officer yelled at two people who were trying to leave the student center during the situation.
‘Inside, now!’
“Inside, now!” shouted the officer.
About 10 minutes later, authorities escorted a group of students out of one of the science buildings. Everyone walks in a line with hands up.
A freshman told WTVD that he was chatting with classmates in the dining hall.
“There were some people who were really nervous, kind of desperate, and then most of us were on our phones checking the news, we were actually tuning into the police radio, trying to figure out what was going on,” the student said.
Sophomore Adrian Lanier said he and others sat on the wall — away from doors and windows — for hours as rumors spread.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
