On Monday a shooter killed a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s science building. Police said, following a lockdown that paralyzed the campus community while authorities searched for the suspect.
Officials said at a news conference that police arrested the suspect three hours after initial reports of the shooting came from Caudell Labs.
Charges were pending, and the suspect was not immediately identified. University officials also did not immediately identify the staff killed and said it was too early to offer a possible motive.
“This loss is devastating and the shooting undermines the trust and safety we so often take for granted in our campus community,” said Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.
The emergency sirens went off about two minutes after a 911 caller reported shots fired around 1 p.m. at the laboratory located in the heart of the flagship campus.
Students and faculty barricaded themselves in dorm rooms. Offices and classrooms until the lockdown was lifted around 4:15 p.m.
No other injuries were reported.
Adrian Lanier, a sophomore computer science major, told The Associated Press that he and others sat against a wall in a gym, trying to stay as far away from doors and windows as the rumors spread.
“No one really felt safe enough to leave. I didn’t,” Lanier said.
Oliver Katz, an exchange student at Denmark’s Copenhagen Business School, said some students crowded into gym locker rooms to stay away from windows. While others hunkered down in corners and sat on the floor.
“That never happens where I’m from,” Katz said. “It was intense. But I was a little surprised that other people weren’t as nervous.
Katz, who has only been on campus for two weeks, said he is concerned his home university will bring exchange students back sooner.
“I don’t want to leave. I love it here, and I still feel safe,” said Oliver Katz – UNC student.
During the news conference, Guskiewicz apologized to students who feel uncertain about their safety right now.
Campus Police Chief James said it was unclear if the suspect knew the victim. He also said that no weapon founded. We are looking for the firearm. It is too early to determine if the firearm legally obtained he said.
During the lockdown, the university sent repeated alerts urging members of the campus community to shelter in place.
About two hours after the first warning issued officers were still arriving in large numbers. About 50 police vehicles on the scene arrived and helicopters circling the school.
James said it took about an hour and a half to lift the lockdown after the arrest as authorities were making sure they had the right suspect in custody.
He said police had received calls about other possible victims and gunshots around campus that needed to be investigated. We had to make sure the entire campus is safe.
The building where the shooting took place is a stone’s throw from the school’s iconic bell tower and down the street from a store that sells student books and other supplies.
Classes started a week ago at UNC (University of North Carolina) the country’s first public university.
The university along with about 20,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students canceled classes for Tuesday.
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During the lockdown one student told media that she barricaded her dormitory door with her furniture.
Another student, speaking softly, described hiding in fear with others in a dark bathroom.
Noel T. Brewer, a behavioral health professor and a 57-year-old married father of two told media while holed up with colleagues in his locked office during the lockdown. That he once had a gunpoint at the tip of mom’s jewelry store. But that Monday’s events were “too stressful.”