After the gunfire, tragedy struck on Monday when a member of the community lost their life, and an individual was taken into custody, prompting a three-hour lockdown at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an immediate alert to students to seek shelter.
Classes had begun a week ago, but the usual atmosphere of joy and excitement on campus turned into a sense of dread and silence due to the shooting incident.
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz addressed reporters during a press conference in the afternoon, saying, “It’s truly a sad day for our campus community.”
Officials did not release the name of the suspect as charges had not yet been filed against them, or the name of the victim, whose family was being notified by authorities.
Brian James, Chief of UNC Police, stated during the press conference that the first 911 call about the shooting at the Kedil Labs, a chemistry-focused center located on campus, was received at 1:02 pm.
On Monday, after the gunfire, hundreds of police officers from other agencies descended upon the campus, with some in armored vehicles, while a helicopter passed overhead. School officials swiftly canceled classes.
This shooting occurred two days after a gunman wreaked havoc at Florida’s Jacksonville, at the historically Black college, Edward Waters University, leaving three people dead. Officials described it as a racially motivated attack on a dollar general store. The university stated that a security guard had ultimately prevented the assailant from entering the school.
UNC-Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian James stated that the suspect in the UNC shooting was apprehended at 2:31 pm.
He mentioned during the evening press conference that getting to the motive would be a hasty endeavor and investigators were still searching for the firearm used in the shooting. During the lockdown, officials released an image of an “armed and dangerous” individual and labeled him as a “person of interest.” He did not confirm later whether that individual was in custody.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, an alum of the school, pledged in a tweet that “all state resources needed for the apprehension of the shooter and security of the UNC campus will receive necessary assistance.” As per an official communication from the White House, President Biden was informed about the incident involving the shooting..
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Jackson Gerdes, a sophomore student, was heading to a dining hall when he received a university alert on his phone, instructing everyone to take shelter on the campus.
Gerdes informed a staff member who was swiping student IDs at the escalator on the second floor of the dining hall about the alert before ascending. He was met by a friend there.
As this pair sat down at a table, students around them began to observe the local police scanners and attempted to gather more information by scrolling through the encrypted messaging app, Wickr Yak. Friends from different states messaged Gerdes to check if he was safe. The most important thing for him was not missing anything.
“The campus was like a ghost town,” he said. “Seeing and hearing nothing was surreal.”
Guskiewicz expressed satisfaction that employees followed their training and planned how to respond to the shooting.
However, Kyle Sandino, a junior studying political science and dramatic art, wanted more communication from the university. He said, ” He mentioned, “My academic focus lies in political science and the world of dramatic arts.”. I wanted more communication from the university.”
Sandino and his fellow classmates received an emergency alert where they were, urging them to take shelter. Sandino mentioned that their professor attempted to lock the classroom door, but it couldn’t be secured.
It was shortly after 1 p.m. When around 20 geology students, their professor, and an instructional assistant Michelle Hall, barricaded themselves in a storage room.
Before everything became clear, Sandino messaged The Washington Post on a messaging app, revealing that students had encountered about 10 others in the building, in a laboratory.
He said, “You never think it will happen to you, and perhaps I had the same thoughts, but today it did.” “As I’m writing, it’s happening just as it did, and this could happen with anyone else in this country too.”
Guskiewicz mentioned that mental health resources will be available for students and staff members.