Faculty Member Killed in UNC Chapel Hill Shooting

A faculty member was killed in a shooting on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill that took place Monday.

Around 1 p.m., shots were fired at Caudill Laboratories, the college’s chemistry building. Students were told about 1 p.m. to shelter in place, and around 4 p.m., campus police gave the all-clear to resume activities.

A suspect has been arrested, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said at a press conference Monday night.

“This is truly a tragic day for our campus community,” Guskiewicz said. “I’m grieved to report one of our faculty members was killed in this shooting.” The identity of the faculty member is unknown.

UNC Police Chief Brian James said police have not determined a motive for the violence. The gun used to commit the shooting has not yet been located, he said.

“We really want to know the ‘why’ in this case and what led to it,” James added.

While police have not revealed the identity of the suspect, a picture of a “person of interest” has circulated since the shooting. Campus police posted a photo around 2:30 p.m. on Twitter.

“This photo shows a person of interest in today’s armed and dangerous person situation,” the tweet read. “If you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911.”

The photo matches one on the UNC Chapel Hill website for a student named Tailei Qi, who was involved in the Applied Physical Sciences department. It says he studied material science at Louisiana State University and physics at Wuhan University. A Twitter account with the same picture as in the profile states “graduate student” at UNC in the bio.

The university announced Monday evening that classes will be canceled on Tuesday and that nonmandatory operations will be suspended. Classes also were canceled Monday after the shooting.

“This loss is devastating and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community. We will work to rebuild that sense of trust and safety within our community,” Guskiewicz said.

Governor Roy Cooper said in a statement that he was working with local personnel to keep students safe after the suspected shooter was apprehended.

“My office is in communication with law enforcement and officials at UNC-Chapel Hill who are taking precautions to protect campus safety following today’s shooting,” he said. “This is a tragic way to start a new semester and the state will provide any assistance necessary to support the UNC community.”