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| UNC-Chapel Hill Staff Member Fatally Shot, Prompting Hours-Long Lockdown of Community |
A tragic incident unfolded on Monday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where a faculty member was fatally shot by an assailant in a laboratory building located at the heart of the campus. The incident sparked a period of confusion and tension, leading to a three-hour lockdown at the university and nearby K-12 schools.
Officials and law enforcement personnel, during a press conference held on Monday evening, confirmed that an individual had been taken into custody in connection with the incident. However, the identity of both the detained person and the deceased faculty member was not disclosed.
In response to this distressing event, all classes and activities at UNC were canceled for the rest of Monday and the entirety of Tuesday.
The shooting occurred on the first day of the second week of classes at the university and coincided with the start of the academic year for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
The initial report of shots being fired reached 911 dispatch at 1:02pm, according to Brian James, the Chief of UNC Police. Subsequently, lockdown measures were implemented across the campus and the surrounding community. The university did not issue an "all-clear" notification until approximately 4:15pm.
During the intervening hours, students turned to social media platforms to share videos and images, while law enforcement briefly detained and subsequently released an individual who was initially suspected to be the shooter. This unfolding situation kept parents and community members anxiously refreshing their phones for updates. Regrettably, false information spread via social media and unverified reports contributed to heightened fear and distractions, as pointed out by Katie Peralta Soloff from Axios.
UNC promptly issued an alert at 1:03pm, just a minute after the initial 911 call, notifying the campus community about an "armed and dangerous person" on or near the premises. Instructions to shelter in place and avoid windows were disseminated at 1:21pm. Chief James indicated that the suspected shooter was apprehended by the police at 2:31pm, almost 90 minutes following the initial emergency call. A mere four minutes later, a person of interest's photograph was shared on social media.
Despite these developments, the shelter-in-place directive remained in effect, with UNC alerts indicating that the suspect was still at large, until after 4pm. Chief James attributed this delay to the time required for the police to accurately identify the shooter. During this period, another individual was briefly detained and subsequently released, Chief James mentioned.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public Schools system received confirmation to dismiss at 3:40pm, signaling a semblance of normalcy.
It wasn't until 5:45pm that both law enforcement and university officials officially confirmed the occurrence of the shooting during a press conference. The only prior acknowledgement came from Governor Roy Cooper, who, through his office, confirmed the incident and pledged full state resources to bring the shooter to justice.
The incident led to a state of uncertainty across the campus and its vicinity, prompting a heightened police presence particularly around the laboratory buildings near the iconic school bell tower.
For many, the tragic events rekindled painful memories of a previous tragedy on February 10, 2015, when three Muslim students, including two from UNC and one from N.C. State, lost their lives in an off-campus residence.
Addressing the community during the evening press conference, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz emphasized the need for unity during such trying times. He observed that such unfortunate incidents are unfortunately becoming all too common across the nation.