College gunman fatally shoots parents, police say
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 in a dormitory and then running from campus.
The shooting happened on a day when parents were arriving to pick up students for the beginning of a weeklong spring break.
Police released a photo of James Eric Davis Jr., urging the public to call 911 if they see 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 university identified the victims as James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis. Records show they are from Plainfield, Ill.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 a.m. at Campbell Hall, a residence hall at Central Michigan, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing.
Klaus said video at the dorm suggests Davis fled on foot after the shooting. He was wearing a hoodie but had been shedding certain clothes while on the run.
“This has been a tragic day . ... The hurting will go on for a while,” said university President George Ross.
The search was focused on Mount Pleasant neighborhoods near campus. Officers knocked on doors and checked possible hiding places, such as yards and porches. In the surrounding community, students and staff in the Mount Pleasant school district were told not to leave several buildings.
Klaus said Davis was taken to a hospital Thursday night by campus police because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose.
Davis graduated from Central High School in Plainfield, Ill., in 2016, said Tom Hernandez, a spokesman for the local school district 202.
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before the weeklong break. Parents who were trying to pick up students were told instead to go to a local hotel where staff would assist them while the manhunt was ongoing.
A student, Tyler Whipple, was driving through campus when his route was blocked by police cars at the scene of the killings. He had to catch a flight to Florida. “These roads are kind of spooky right now,” Whipple said.
The school posted an alert Friday morning on social media about shots being fired at Campbell Hall. An automated phone message also was sent to students.
Halie Byron, 20, said she locked herself in her off-campus house, about a 10-minute walk from the dorm. She had planned to run errands before traveling home to the Detroit area.
“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.