UNC students seen jumping from windows in heartwrenching videos during active shooter situation
Heartwrenching videos show students hiding under desks and jumping from classroom windows during an active shooter situation the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The campus was placed on lockdown for several hours on Monday afternoon after an alert went out about an “armed person”. Police later confirmed one member of the faculty was killed and a suspect, identified as graduate student Tailei Qi, was taken into custody. The motive for the shooting, which took place at the centre of the campus in one of the science buildings, remains unclear. Throughout much of the active situation, those under the “shelter in place” order did not have any idea what was going on. Videos posted to social media captured sirens wailing as students and faculty barricaded themselves in dorms, bathrooms, classrooms, and gyms across the sprawling grounds. The shelter in place alert was posted just after 1pm, with sirens emitted within two minutes. Officers found the faculty member, who has not been identified, fatally shot in the lab building, UNC Police Chief Brian James told a press conference. The suspect was apprehended about 90 minutes after the initial report of gunfire but the lockdown persisted as authorities searched for the weapon, officials told a press at a briefing. The arrest took place in a residential area close to the campus, according to local TV station WRAL. The lockdown was lifted at about 4.15pm. It is unclear if the suspect and victim knew each other. Chief James said: “To actually have the suspect in custody gives us an opportunity to figure out the why and even the how, and also helps us to uncover a motive and really just why this happened today. Why today, why at all?” “And we want to learn from this incident and we will certainly work to do our best to ensure that this never happens again on the UNC campus,” he added. Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said: “This loss is devastating, and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community.” Graduate student Clayton Ulm, 23, said he was in a class with about 50 to 70 others when the lockdown went into action. The alarm went off and screens in the room also announced the order to shelter in place. “Then there was quite a bit of panic as students were trying to figure out what to do,” Mr Ulm wrote on LinkedIn after three hours of the lockdown, according to the AP. “Then we all started hiding beneath our chairs and under desks. Some students went and locked the doors.” Mr Ulm added that students began listening to police scanners to find out where the shooter was located with the sense of panic eventually subsiding and students could use the restrooms near them. It was “surreal seeing the mass panic,” Mr Ulm said. “We are looking for a firearm. It is too early to determine if the firearm was legally obtained,” Chief James said. The shooting came just a week after the start of classes at the first public university in the US. Tuesday’s classes were cancelled for the school’s 20,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate students. Northern Virginia freshman Rushil Umaretiya held a candle outside the lab building on Monday night with two of his friends, just two weeks after he moved to Chapel Hill. “In my family, whenever someone passes, we light a candle, so I thought I’d come out and pay some respect to the community I’m trying to join,” he told the AP. “It’s a scary time for a lot of people, like I have a lot of history with loss, so I think it’s just fear and a lot of mixed emotions.” Mr Ulm moved from Oklahoma to Chapel Hill a couple of months ago. He told the news agency that his mother called him as the students were sheltering in place. She was “crying profusely,” he said. “I knew I should’ve texted you yesterday, I was so worried... this was my greatest fear,” she told him. Read More UNC Chapel Hill graduate student Tailei Qi charged with murder in shooting of faculty member UNC shooting – latest: Graduate student charged with murder of faculty member on Chapel Hill campus
2023-08-29 22:47
UNC Chapel Hill graduate student Tailei Qi charged with murder in shooting of faculty member
UNC at Chapel Hill graduate student Tailei Qi has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the on-campus shooting on Monday that left one faculty member dead. Mr Qi, a second-year applied physical sciences major, was not officially identified by university officials and law enforcement on Monday but was named in court documents obtained by NBC. His profile page on the university’s website was taken down as of Tuesday morning. According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Qi graduated from Wuhan University in 2015 before pursuing a master’s in material science at Lousiana State University. The suspect’s relationship with the unnamed fatal victim remains unclear. UNC police said during a press conference on Monday that a motive was not immediately evident, adding that the victim’s name would be released once next of kin was notified. Mr Qi was arrested near a residential area two miles from campus nearly three hours after faculty members received an alert about an active shooting situation. This is a breaking story ... check again for updates. Read More UNC shooting – latest: Graduate student charged with murder of faculty member on Chapel Hill campus A new college term, a faculty member killed and a suspect arrested: What we know about the UNC shooting UNC faculty member confirmed dead as active shooter shuts down Chapel Hill school
2023-08-29 22:20
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2023-08-29 21:59
A high school graduate, a devoted father and hardworking mother: The Jacksonville shooting victims
The community of Jacksonville has been left reeling after a gunman killed three Black people in a racially-motivated attack at a dollar store. The shooting took place inside a Dollar General store in a predominately African-American neighbourhood on Saturday, with 21-year-old gunman Ryan Palmeter opening fire on innocent victims with an AR-15-style rifle decorated with swastikas. As well as the rifle, Palmeter was also armed with a Glock handgun and was wearing a tactical vest and face mask when he carried out his attack. He briefly visited one dollar store before leaving and heading to the historically-Black Edward Waters University, where a security guard refused him entry to the campus. He then headed to the Dollar General, arriving at around 1pm local time. Police said Palmeter first fired 11 rounds into a black Kia before entering the store, allowing some shoppers to leave before opening fire on those who remained. As law enforcement descended on the store, the shooter killed himself. Speaking at a press conference, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said that the shooting was definitely “racially motivated." “He hated Black people,” he said after reviewing the killer’s writings, which were sent to federal law enforcement officials and at least one media outlet shortly before the attack. The gunman acted alone and “there is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group,” he added. He added: “This is a dark day in Jacksonville’s history. There is no place for hate in this community. I am sickened by this cowardly shooter’s personal ideology.” On Sunday, the three victims – two men and one woman – were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29. Here, we take a look at the victims who lost their lives in the horrific Jacksonville shooting Angela Michelle Carr - a hardworking mother Angela Michelle Carr, 52, was a mother and worked as an Uber driver. On Saturday, Carr was dropping off a passenger at the Dollar General store and was sat inside her vehicle when the gunman opened fire on her. Speaking to NBC News on Monday, Carr’s daughter Ashley Carr, 36, said: “She wasn’t meant to go that fast. She wasn’t even supposed to be there. She was shot in her car. She never even had a chance.” Ashley remembered her mother as a “dedicated” and “hardworking” woman. “She was a great woman, and she’s been taken. I hope her spirit is at rest,” she said. Carr’s daughter said that she knows the gunman’s family and is also praying for them. As well as her love for her family and her work, Carr was dedicated to her faith. She joined St. Stephen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jacksonville when she was three years old and still attended services there up until her death. The pastor said the church community has rallied behind her family. “She was just a loving, caring mother,” Reverend David Green said. Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion - the devoted father Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion has been remembered as a devoted father, brother and grandson. The 29-year-old was brutally shot dead as he entered the Dollar General store’s front door on Saturday with his girlfriend. “My brother shouldn’t have lost his life,” his sister, Latiffany Gallion, said on Sunday. “A simple day of going to the store, and he’s taken away from us forever.” As father to four-year-old daughter Je Asia, Gallion’s family said he was planning to spend the weekend with her on the weekend when he was killed. Family members said he worked two to three jobs to try to build the best life for her. Je Asia’s maternal grandmother Sabrina Rozier said at a press conference on Monday that Je Asia’s fifth birthday is coming up and the family was planning a big party for her. Gallion was also looking forward to a father-daughter dance in February. “He was so excited about it, talking about the colours they would wear,” Ms Rozier said. “Now she’s asking, ‘Who shot my daddy?’” “From the time my daughter got pregnant ‘til yesterday, Jerrald never missed a beat,” she added of Gallion. Ms Rozier said that the family is now trying to figure out how to tell his daughter that he “is gone” and said she does not have the “words to tell her, to break her heart”. “This man saw fit to break my granddaughter’s heart and take her daddy away,” Ms Rozier said about the gunman. Tyesha Jones, the mother of Gallion’s four-year-old daughter, said he was a devoted father and co-parent. Although the two were no longer together, they remained close, according to NBC News. In a vigil held on Sunday, Ms Jones told the news outlet that Gallion was her “best friend” and added: “He was my daughter’s best friend. He got her every weekend. He was the best daddy ever.” Anolt Joseph ‘AJ’ Laguerre Jr - a high school graduate Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr, also known as AJ, was only 19 years old and worked at the Dollar General store when he was shot and killed by the gunman. The youngest of five siblings, they were raised by their grandmother after their mother passed away in 2009. AJ graduated from high school in 2022, which was a proud moment for him and his family. While he was thinking about going to college to study cybersecurity, he took up a job at the Dollar General store just a few months ago to help his grandmother pay the bills. In his downtime, AJ liked to play Fortnite and other videogames on Twitch, his brother said, using the gamer tag galaxysoul. His goal was to build a large online following. “He had dreams and aspirations of being a professional streamer,” Quan Laguerre said. “So after he would get off work, he’d just stay up until 3 or 4am in the morning just grinding, you know, trying to get that stance and have followers.” Additional reporting from agencies Read More Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faces Black leaders' anger after racist killings in Jacksonville Family of Jacksonville shooting victim say they don’t want call from Biden Jacksonville killings refocus attention on the city’s racist past and the struggle to move on
2023-08-29 20:55
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2023-08-29 20:23
UNC shooting – latest: Motive remains unknown after shooter kills faculty member in Chapel Hill
The motive for the shooting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which left one faculty member dead remains under investigation following the arrest of the suspected gunman. On Monday, the UNC campus was rocked by an active shooting situation which plunged the area into lockdown from around 1pm ET. Local law enforcement and UNC officials warned that “an armed and dangerous person” was on or near the campus before confirming that a faculty member was killed in the shooting. An image of the suspect was circulated by officials before he was taken into custody around three hours later near a residential area 10 minutes away from campus. The weapon used in the shooting is yet to be recovered. Neither the victim nor the suspect have been publicly identified by officials and it is not clear if the attack was targeted or random. “The students are certainly traumatised,” UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin M Guskiewicz said. “But I want to commend those who were inside the building ensuring everyone’s safety.” Read More UNC faculty member confirmed dead as active shooter shuts down Chapel Hill school America is on pace for its worst year of mass shootings in a decade. What’s driving the record-breaking surge?
2023-08-29 19:59
A new college term, a faculty member killed and a suspect arrested: What we know about the UNC shooting
A college campus in North Carolina is waking up on Tuesday gripped by fear, grief and many unanswered questions. Just days into the start of a new term, students and faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found themselves hunkering down inside classrooms and leaping from first floor windows as an active shooting situation unfolded on site. Inside the science building, a faculty member was found shot dead. Following a brief moment where the wrong person was arrested – an unsuspecting individual who missed the shelter-in-place alerts – campus police confirmed that the suspect had been taken into custody around 10 minutes from the scene. Harrowingly, the horror was a somewhat familiar sight for the UNC community coming four years after a mass shooting at the Charlotte campus left two dead and four injured. Officials are yet to release the identities of both the suspect and the victim in this latest attack, with much of the details of what happened and why still unclear. Here’s what we do know so far about the shooting The shooting The shooting unfolded at around 1pm local time on Monday when UNC Police responded to a 911 call reporting gunfire at the science lab in the heart of the campus. Law enforcement arrived on the scene around two minutes after the call came in and plunged the campus into lockdown, warning that “an armed and dangerous person” was at large. Officials later confirmed that a faculty member had been shot dead inside a campus building. Soon after, the UNC Police released an image of a person of interest in the case, warning the public that “if you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911”. Chilling footage shows terrified students and staff members barricaded inside classrooms and offices for fear that an active shooter was at large. Around three hours on from the shooting, police confirmed that a suspect was arrested near a residential area 10 minutes away from campus. The gun is yet to be recovered, police said. The lockdown was eventually lifted at around 4.15pm. The suspect Neither the victim nor the suspect have been publicly identified by officials. It is not clear if they knew each other prior to the shooting or if the attack was targeted or random. At a press conference on Monday evening, police would not confirm whether or not the person arrested was the same man who was identified as a person of interest. Instead, police said that they would release the suspect’s identity once charges had been filed. The victim’s identity will also be released once next of kin is identified. The motive also remains unknown at this time. UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin M Guskiewicz said in a statement that a hotline and other mental health resources were on offer for staff and students affected by the shooting. “The students are certainly traumatised,” he said. “But I want to commend those who were inside the building ensuring everyone’s safety.” Classes have been canceled through Tuesday. Read More UNC shooting – latest: Motive remains unknown after shooter kills faculty member in Chapel Hill Suspect's motive unclear in campus shooting that killed 1 at UNC Chapel Hill, police say A white gunman killed three Black shoppers at Dollar General. Then police uncovered ‘the diary of a madman’
2023-08-29 19:58
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2023-08-29 19:16
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