One faculty member is dead after students and staff at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill were placed on lockdown for several hours on Monday after reports of a shooting.
A campuswide alert was sent out by police at approximately 1:03 p.m. ET regarding an “armed and dangerous person on or near campus.” Faculty and students were encouraged to “remain sheltered in place” in an additional update at 2:24 p.m. until the lockdown was lifted at 4:26 p.m. ET.
Details about what prompted the lockdown were unclear until a press briefing Monday evening, during which UNC Police Chief Brian James confirmed that one person—an unnamed faculty member—was shot and killed in the incident. According to James, no other injuries were reported, and additional information about the deceased individual is not being released at this time.
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James told reporters that UNC Police first received a call about shots fired at Caudill Laboratories—a facility located near the heart of UNC’s campus on South Road—at 1:02 p.m. ET on Monday. Police then quickly issued the campuswide emergency alert and initiated a lockdown just a few minutes later. Officers located the deceased faculty member upon arrival at the laboratory.
“Based on witness information at the scene, UNC Police were able to identify a suspect, and after a search of the surrounding area, the suspect was taken into custody at 2:31 p.m.,” James said.
“The lockdown of the campus remained while police verified the suspect’s identity and conducted a comprehensive search for the weapon that was used in the shooting, which at this time has not been located,” the police chief added.
James told reporters that an investigation into the incident is ongoing. A formal name of the suspect that police have in custody is not being released at this time since charges have yet to be filed, he added.
UNC Police released a photo of a “person of interest” connected to the shooting earlier in the day Monday, which appeared to match an online profile for UNC student Tailei Qi. The picture of Qi was posted to the police force’s X account—the platform formerly known as Twitter—at 2:35 p.m. ET.
It remains unclear if Qi is the suspect currently in custody.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as information becomes available.
