Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Teen sought after dorm shooting
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Police in camouflage uniforms searched neighborhoods near Central Michigan University on Friday for a 19-year-old student suspected of fatally shooting his parents at a dormitory and then running from campus.
Police released a photo of James Eric Davis Jr., urging the public to call 911 if anyone sees him but also warning that he shouldn’t be confronted. Hours after a campus lockdown, police started a “slow, methodical removal” of staff and students who were ordered to take shelter in campus buildings, Lt. Larry Klaus said.
“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” Klaus said of Davis.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 a.m. at Campbell Hall, a residence hall at Central Michigan University, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing. Klaus described the shooting as a “family-type domestic situation.”
After authorities declined for hours to confirm news reports that the people killed were the suspect’s parents, the university reported that the victims were James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis. News reports said the Davises had arrived to pick up their son for spring break, and records show that they were from Plainfield, Ill.
Klaus said video at the dorm suggests that the suspect fled on foot. He was wearing a hoodie and shedding certain clothing while he ran.
The search was focused on Mount Pleasant neighborhoods near campus. Officers in camouflage knocked on doors and checked yards and porches.
Klaus said James Davis was taken to a hospital Thursday night by campus police because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose.
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before a weeklong break. Parents arriving to pick up students were told to go to a hotel where staff members would assist them while the manhunt was ongoing.
Student Halie Byron, 20, said she locked herself in her off-campus house, about a 10-minute walk from the dorm.
“It’s scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere — a classroom, a library. There’s so much easy access,” Byron said.
Information for this article was contributed by Rhonda Shafner of The Associated Press.