Gunman chose specific site for attack but not specific victims, police say

Chief says student’s sacrifice saved lives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The gunman who killed two students and wounded four others at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte didn’t seem to be targeting anyone in particular but did choose the building where he carried out his attack, authorities said Wednesday.

Former UNCC student Trystan Andrew Terrell, 22, was formally charged with murder, attempted murder and other offenses related to Tuesday’s shooting on the last day of classes before final exams.

Students were in class to make endof-year presentations when the suspect fired a pistol, killing Ellis Parlier, 19, of Midland, North Carolina, and Riley Howell, 21, of Waynesville, North Carolina, officials said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said the bloodshed would have been worse if not for Howell tackling the gunman, getting fatally shot in the process.

“You’re either going to run, you’re going to hide and shield, or you’re going to take the fight to the assailant,” Putney said. “Having no place to run and hide, he did the last. But for his work, the assailant may not have been disarmed. Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process. But his sacrifice saved lives.”

Police disarmed and apprehended Terrell in the same room where shots were fired, UNCC Police Chief Jeff Baker said. Officers assembling nearby for a concert rushed to the classroom building and arrested the gunman.

Baker said Terrell was “not somebody ... on our radar” before the shooting.

Putney said he promised the father of one of the victims that his detectives would do everything possible to find a motive for the assault.

“I just went into a classroom and shot the guys,” Terrell said Tuesday as officers led him in handcuffs into a law enforcement building.

The injured students were identified as Rami Alramadhan, 20, of Saihat, Saudia Arabia; Sean Dehart, 20, of Apex, North Carolina; Emily Houpt, 23, of Charlotte; and Drew Pescaro, 19, of Apex.

Pescaro is a sportswriter at the school newspaper, Niner Times, which tweeted late Tuesday that he was out of surgery and in stable condition.

Chancellor Philip Dubois said all four injured students were expected to recover.

Terrell’s grandfather, Paul Rold, said his grandson had not been allowed to speak to his father or a lawyer. Rold, of Arlington, Texas, said Terrell is on the autism spectrum but “clever as can be” and showed no interest in guns.

According to Putney, the weapon used in the shooting was purchased legally.

Terrell was a history major at UNCC, where he transferred in fall 2018.

School spokeswoman Buffy Stephens said Terrell withdrew from UNCC this year.

The Charlotte Observer reported he had no prior arrest record.

The governor vowed a hard look to see what can be done to prevent attacks.

“A student should not have to fear for his or her life when they are on our campuses,” Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said. “Parents should not have to worry about their students when they send them off to school. And I know that this violence has to stop. … In the coming days, we will take a hard look at all of this to see what we need to do going forward.”

The shooting prompted a lockdown and caused panic across campus. Aerial shots from television news outlets showed police officers running toward a building while students fled on a campus sidewalk.

Sophomore Devin Williams said the campus “usually feels relatively safe.”

Williams found out about the active shooter through social media and received an emailed campus alert a few minutes later.

He was grateful for the speed of the police response.

“They were on the ball, that is the best way I can put it,” Williams said. “They came out incredibly quick, started securing areas, getting everyone safe.”

“Just loud bangs,” said Antonio Rodriguez, 24, who was visiting campus for his friend’s art show. “A couple loud bangs, and then we just saw everyone run out of the building, like nervous, like a scared run, like they were looking behind.”

Nikie Mayo reports for the Anderson (South Carolina) Independent Mail; Mollie Simon for the Greenville (South Carolina) News; Jorge L. Ortiz and Joey Garrison for USA TODAY