University of North Carolina lifts lockdown

A faculty member at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill was shot and killed Monday and the suspect is in custody, authorities confirmed Monday.

In a letter to the UNC community, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said police issued an all-clear around 4:15 p.m. following a three-hour lockdown Monday afternoon. Guskiewicz said there is no longer an immediate threat to the community.

“I am grieved the report that one of our faculty members was killed in the shooting,” Guskiewicz wrote in a statement, adding the school is waiting until next of kin is notified to release additional information on the victim.

Guskiewicz said classes were cancelled for the remainder of Monday and all of Tuesday as the campus moves to a “Condition 2” until midnight on Tuesday, meaning all classes and non-mandatory operations are suspended.

The UNC police issued an alert just after 1 p.m. saying that police reported an armed and dangerous person near the campus. The officials did not provide further detail on the location of the person or with what kind of weapon the person was armed.

Police also released a photo of the person of interest in the armed and dangerous person situation, warning people to keep their distance and to call 911 if they see them.

A separate alert issued just after 2 p.m. told students that the shelter-in-place warning was still active.

“If you are on campus, shelter in place. If you are off campus, stay away from campus. We will provide updates as they become available. Continue to follow Alert Carolina for updates,” according to the police alert.

UNC announced in an alert at about 3:15 p.m. that the remainder of classes and events would be canceled for the day, more than two hours after it issued the first alert.

Just after 4:30 p.m., the university’s alert system reported that a shelter-in-place was lifted and asked the campus to stay away from one spot in particular, Caudill Labs, a chemistry building.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said he has spoken with the local law enforcement, saying that he “pledged all state resources needed to capture the shooter and protect the UNC campus.”

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools were in “secure mode” as of 1 p.m. Monday, meaning that doors will be closed and locked, and no one will be permitted to enter or leave the school building, according to the school district. It later also issued an all-clear.

This story was updated at 6:35 p.m.

Miranda Nazzaro contributed to this report.