A gunman fatally shot two people at a Central Michigan University residence hall Friday morning, sending police officers swarming to the campus and setting off a search for the gunman that continued into the evening.
The episode rattled nerves at Central Michigan, where details were released slowly and students were told to take shelter inside dorms and classrooms for much of the day.
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Police officers said they were seeking James E. Davis Jr., 19, a sophomore. They described him as a person of interest in the shooting and cautioned that he was “armed and dangerous.” The victims were identified as Davis’ parents, James E. Davis Sr. and Diva J. Davis, both 47. An Illinois state legislator identified the elder Davis as a police officer in Bellwood, a Chicago suburb.
The search for the gunman continued late Friday afternoon, and included more than 100 police officers from several Michigan agencies and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We have not had any of our police assets lay eyes on him,” said Lt. Larry Klaus of the university police. “We have not had any calls from the community saying they’ve seen him.”
The shooting came just over two weeks after 17 people were killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida, and amid a national conversation about gun control and gun rights. Near Central Michigan’s campus in Mount Pleasant, about 150 miles northwest of Detroit, public buildings and schools were placed in lockdowns.
Klaus said the younger Davis had been taken to a hospital by police Thursday evening for what “officers believed might be a drug-related” incident, perhaps an overdose or a bad reaction to narcotics.
Klaus said officers had found clothing alongside railroad tracks that may have been discarded by Davis, and were focusing their search in an area north of campus.
The hunt for Davis and the lengthy lockdown complicated the beginning of spring break at Central Michigan and led to the postponement of a men’s basketball game. More than six hours after the shooting, police officers went building to building to evacuate students. Parents who arrived to pick up their students were initially told to wait at a hotel.
As the search continued, Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan spoke alongside university leaders, promising assistance for students rattled by the shooting.
“We had two people that were killed in a residence facility: that’s traumatic,” said Snyder, a Republican. “I hope everyone can rally and, to the degree you see something, say something.”