A graduate student allegedly shot and killed a faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill Monday afternoon, according to university officials and police, locking down the campus for several hours.
The suspect, Tailei Qi, a graduate student in applied physical sciences, was taken into custody Monday afternoon. Formal charges are pending, police said at a press conference Monday evening.
University officials and police did not identify the deceased faculty member as they worked to notify their family.
Police have not pinpointed a motive, but Qi’s Twitter posts expressed frustration, stress and depression. This year and last, he made a series of vague posts about conflict with other students and his “PI” or principal investigator, usually a faculty member assigned by the university to work with students on research projects.
It is not clear whether that PI is the faculty member who was killed.
In response, we have canceled classes and all campus events for the rest of the day on Monday, Aug. 28 and Tuesday, Aug. 29. The campus is moving to Condition 2 until midnight tomorrow.
Please know that support is available and these departments stand ready to help. Students, including graduate and professional students and postdocs, please contact the Dean of Students team or Counseling and Psychological Services. For urgent concerns, please call 919-966-3658, the emergency protocol line. Faculty and staff should reach out to the Employee Assistance Program. More information will be provided on additional counseling services and opportunities to grieve and process.
During the alert period, university police advised students to go inside immediately, close windows and doors and to wait until further notice, according to an email. A witness on campus told CNN they were locked down in their building and saw armed officers searching campus.
Video from CNN affiliate WRAL in Chapel Hill showed a large number of police vehicles at the campus with their emergency lights flashing. At times, people walked out of nearby buildings in a single-file line with their arms in the air.
A WRAL reporter also recorded video of campus police surrounding a person in handcuffs who appeared to be dressed in a dark shirt and jeans and wearing glasses at the time the school was under lockdown.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, which are near the Chapel Hill campus and were open for the first day of class this school calendar, were given the "all clear" from the proper authorities," to begin the dismissal of elementary and middle school students at 3:40 p.m. ET, the district said on X. Dismissal for their elementary and middle schools were delayed due to the reported shooting.
"We thank you in advance for your patience as we transport students home safely," the district said.
The district was in "secure mode" since the initial alert Monday afternoon and said on X they would not be releasing students to their families until the situation was deemed safe. All afterschool activities for schools in the district were canceled Monday.
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