Two people died and another four were wounded, three critically, after a shooting at the University of North Carolina’s Charlotte campus on Tuesday.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced in a tweet that the suspect it has in custody is Trystan Andrew Terrell, 22. Charges are pending.
Earlier, the department had signaled the end of the crisis with the announcement, “Scene secure. One in custody. No reason to believe anyone else involved. CMPD and UNCC going room by room on campus to identify any students, faculty or others who may be sheltering in place.”
Campus Police Chief Jeff Baker said police were on the scene quickly enough to find and disarm the suspect in the same room where the shootings happened.
He said two people were found dead at the scene, and three other were hospitalized in critical condition, while the fourth person suffered less serious injuries.
It was not immediately known whether the victims are students, educators or staff.
The campus remained on lockdown for much of Tuesday afternoon and into the evening.
Earlier, tweets by the campus’ Office of Emergency Management advised people to “Run, Hide, Fight. Secure yourself immediately” as “law enforcement is individually sweeping buildings on campus.”
The shots were fired near the school’s Kennedy building.
Student Laura Olmos told member station WFAE, “I got a call saying don’t come back to campus because I was going to comeback to have dinner with my friends. I just went to the Target parking lot and started crying. … Now we are one of those schools. It’s so crazy.”
Graduate student Ari Seal said he was in the gym when the alert came, and that lights were shut off, and students were told to huddle together in the center of the gym.
University Chancellor Philip Dubois released a statement, saying decisions are being made on how to handle the rest of the school term. “Among those unknowns is how we will navigate the remainder of the semester, including the final examination schedule and graduation,” he said. “Examinations will be canceled through Sunday while we formulate a plan for the following week.”
Dubois said counseling is being provided to students who were on campus during the shooting, and will be made available to the rest of the university on Wednesday.
Source: npr.org
