Faculty member fatally shot in University of North Carolina building
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A shooter killed a faculty member in a science building at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday, police said after a lockdown paralyzed the campus community as authorities searched for a suspect.
Police arrested the suspect about an hour and a half after the initial reports of shots fired came in from Caudill Labs, officials said at a news conference. Charges were pending, and the suspect was not immediately identified.
University officials also did not immediately identify the staffer who was killed and said it was too soon to offer a possible motive.
“This loss is devastating, and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community,” Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said.
Emergency sirens sounded about two minutes after a 911 caller reported gunfire at the laboratory in the heart of the flagship campus, UNC Police Chief Brian James said.
Students and faculty barricaded themselves in dorm rooms, offices and classrooms until the lockdown was lifted over three hours later.
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 as possible from doors and windows as rumors spread.
“No one really felt safe enough to leave. I didn’t,” Lanier said.
Oliver Katz, an exchange student from Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, said some students crowded into gym locker rooms to get away from windows while others crouched in corners and sat on the floor, he said.
“This never happens where I’m from,” Katz said. “It was intense. But I was a little surprised that other people weren’t panicking that much.”
Katz, who has only been on campus for two weeks, said he’s worried his home university will bring the exchange students back early.
James, the campus police chief, said it was unclear if the suspect knew the victim. He also said the weapon has not been found.
