Faculty member killed in UNC building; suspect in custody, chancellor says

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Authorities say a faculty member was shot and killed in a University of North Carolina building.

They say the Monday shooting was in Caudill Laboratories and a suspect has been arrested.

Students and faculty at the flagship campus barricaded themselves in dorm rooms, offices and classrooms for hours until a lockdown was lifted.

On Tuesday, the victim was identified as professor Zijie Yan, according to WRAL. The suspect had worked with Yan’s research group at the university, according to the group’s page on UNC’s website.

The school had warned students to seek shelter indoors and avoid windows.

They posted “all clear” online about three hours later. Police say a motive isn’t known and the weapon has not been found.

Classes started at UNC, the nation’s first public university, a week ago. The university, with about 20,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students, canceled Tuesday classes.

According to jail records in Orange County, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Tailei Qi was booked into custody on charges of first-degree murder and possessing a gun on educational property.

ABC affiliate WTVD reported Qi was denied bond in court Tuesday. His next court date was scheduled for Sept. 18.

The gun charge, a misdemeanor, will likely be upgraded to a felony charge, the district attorney and judge told WTVD.

‘The gravity’

Betsy Thompson with Atrium Health’s Teen Health Connection said the shooting could impact families throughout the Carolinas.

“There’s probably a lot of students from Charlotte that attend Chapel Hill, or someone knows someone or knows a faculty member,” said Thompson, manager of Behavioral Health Services.

She suggests parents talk to their kids about what happened.

“Just having conversations about how they’re coping with and how they’re feeling in the immediate aftermath of this incident, whether they’re at your home around your table, or on their college campus in their dorm room,” Thompson said.

Thompson said anyone impacted by the news should prioritize their mental and physical health.

Senior Steven Schlink said he ran to safety when he read the campus alert.

“At one point, there was an officer going around, just yelling at anybody who was still on the sidewalk to get inside of the building. Had a rifle on his side,” Schlink said.

Students were under lockdown for about three hours.

“There were some people who were sitting there, like in the corner, just praying that they weren’t going to come into the building,” Schlink said.

Schlink said he’s still processing the tragedy.

“As things wind down, as my adrenaline winds down, I think it’ll really start to come to the forefront of my mind exactly what went down today, and the gravity of that all,” Schlink said.

Classes at UNC were canceled for the rest of the day Monday and remained canceled through Wednesday.

‘This is happening’

“We all got (the alert) at the same time,” said Dhruv Patel, of Mooresville. “We all looked up, all locked eyes, like, oh, this is, like, real. This is happening.”

Patel, who graduated UNC in May, was on a bus on his way into campus. He said the driver told everyone to get off right as they got to Franklin Street.

He hunkered down in a nearby Starbucks.

“All of us were on our computers,” Patel said. “I had police scanner on my phone. News on my computer, and I was just listening to exactly what was happening.”

For immediate mental health help call or text 988. Call 911 for a medical emergency.

Statement from UNC Charlotte:

The latest report of a tragic shooting on a college campus, this time at UNC Chapel Hill, has left us stunned and disheartened. The fear, anger and profound sorrow that our friends and colleagues are bearing due to this unfathomable act of violence strike a chord of deep resonance within our community.

As you process the scenes and information you are seeing on the news and social media, you may also be experiencing strong emotions. Please remember there are campus resources available to help you:

• The Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is available to students, including 24-hour emergency access for those in crisis.
• The Employee Assistance Program provides 24-hour support for our faculty and staff, and the Ginger App is always available to you.

Make sure to take care of yourself so that you may help take care of others.

Just as others stood with us, we stand with Chapel Hill now, offering our support as they navigate the days and weeks to come. We know the Chapel Hill community will emerge even stronger than they are today.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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