Professor killed in Delta St. shooting

‘Person of interest’ is sought in another killing, too.

Tragedy struck a Mississippi university poised to celebrate its 90th anniversary when a history teacher was fatally shot in his office, authorities said Monday. Police looked for another school employee in the shooting.

Delta State University was placed on lockdown Monday amid reports of an active shooter on the Cleveland, Miss., campus. The campus remained on lockdown Monday evening, but the univer- sity tweeted that students should report to the dining hall from 5 to 8 p.m. to re-enter residence halls.

Authorities identified the victim as Ethan Schmidt, an assistant history professor. State, city and Delta State police, along with the Bolivar County Sheriff ’s Department, were on campus, looking for his killer, the school said.

Cleveland Police Chief Charles “Buster” Bingham said Monday that authorities identified Shannon Lamb as a “person of interest” in the shooting.

Bingham said police had information suggesting Lamb may have been involved in another slaying in the south Mississippi city of Gau- tier, about 300 miles away.

The university tweeted late Monday afternoon that the person of interest in the shooting may have been driving a black Dodge Avenger with Stone County, Miss., tag STF015.

Gautier police spokesman Matthew Hoggatt told The Sun Herald newspaper that a woman was found dead in her home in Gautier and that Lamb was the suspect in her death.

“We’re working right now under the assumption that both events are related,” Hoggatt said.