Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have issued an “all-clear” update more than four hours after reports first emerged of an active shooting situation on campus.
via: New York Post
A gunman was arrested near the University of North Carolina on Monday after the school was placed on lockdown and one person was believed to be killed, according to a report.
The school was locked down Monday afternoon as officials warned of an armed suspect roaming around campus. Students and staff fled inside and stayed away from windows during the scary situation a week after classes began at the Chapel Hill campus.
A school-wide alert said there was an “armed, dangerous person on or near campus.”
One staff member was killed in the shooting, sources told WRAL.
After the first alert was blasted out around 1 p.m., a man was arrested in connection to the situation around 3:15 p.m. The person of interest was identified as Tailei Qi, the station reported.
Images from the outlet showed a man placed in handcuffs sitting on a curb in front of a driveway in a residential area and also being put inside a police car.
The campus was given the all-clear shortly after.
Details about a possible shooting on campus were not yet provided by school officials or local authorities, but Gov. Roy Cooper posted on X, formerly Twitter, he was in contact with the Orange County sheriff and the state’s public safety secretary and “pledged all state resources to capture the shooter and protect the UNC campus.”
UNC Medical Center had not received any patients from the incident, a spokesperson or UNC Health said.
During the emergency, UNC Police released an image of the person of interest they were seeking in the “armed and dangerous situation.”
“If you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911,” police tweeted.
Tension on campus was palpable during the apparent threat, with officers arriving in droves and about 50 police vehicles and multiple helicopters reaching the campus.
At one point, an officer yelled at two people who tried to leave the student center.
“Inside, now!” the officer screamed.
About 10 minutes later, authorities escorted a group of students out of one of the science buildings. Everyone was walking in line with their hands up.
