Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Vigil Planned After 2 Killed, 4 Wounded in Campus Shooting
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 1, 2019

Share

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A shooting that killed two and wounded four at a North Carolina university left students scrambling for shelter and prompted fresh calls for ways to keep campuses safe.

A vigil was planned for Wednesday on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where the shooting on Tuesday upended the last day of class. The governor vowed a hard look at what happened in order to prevent future shootings.

“A student should not have to fear for his or her life when they are on our campuses,” Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, told reporters. “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.”

Gunman Arrested in Room Where Shooting Took Place

Campus Police Chief Jeff Baker said authorities received a call in the late afternoon that a suspect armed with a pistol had shot several students. Officers assembling nearby for a concert rushed to the classroom building and arrested the gunman in the room where the shooting took place.

“Our officers’ actions definitely saved lives,” Baker said at a news conference.

Two people were killed, and three remained in critical condition late Tuesday. Baker said a fourth person’s injuries were less serious. Students were among the victims, but officials would not say how many.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department identified the suspect as Trystan Andrew Terrell, 22. He’s in custody with charges pending.

Monifa Drayton, an adjunct professor, was walking onto campus when she heard the shots. She said she directed students fleeing the scene to take cover inside a parking deck.

“I heard one final gunshot and I saw all the children running toward me,” she said. “We started to get all the children pulled into the second floor of the parking deck and the rationale was if we’re in the parking deck and there’s a shooter and we don’t know where he is, he won’t have a clear shot.”

She added: “My thought was, I’ve lived my life, I’ve had a really good life, so, these students deserve the same. And so, whatever I could do to help any child to safety, that’s what I was going to do.”

The shooting prompted a lockdown and caused panic across campus.

“Just loud bangs. 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,” said Antonio Rodriguez, 24, who was visiting campus for his friend’s art show.

Relative Said Suspect Had Shown No Interest in Guns

The suspect’s grandfather Paul Rold of Arlington, Texas, said that Terrell and his father moved to Charlotte from the Dallas area about two years ago after his mother died. Terrell taught himself French and Portuguese with the help of a language learning program his grandfather bought him and was attending UNC-Charlotte, Rold said. But Terrell never showed any interest in guns or other weapons and the news he may have been involved in a mass shooting was stunning, said Rold, who had not heard about the Charlotte attack before being contacted by an Associated Press reporter.

“You’re describing someone foreign to me,” Rold said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. “This is not in his DNA.”

Shortly after UNC Charlotte issued a campus lockdown, aerial shots from local television news outlets showed police officers running toward a building, while another view showed students running on a campus sidewalk.

The university has more than 26,500 students and 3,000 faculty and staff. The campus is northeast of the city center and is surrounded by residential areas.

Spenser Gray, a junior, said she was watching another student’s presentation in a nearby campus building when the alert about the shooting popped up on everyone’s computer screens.

She said she panicked: “We had no idea where he was … so we were just expecting them at any moment coming into the classroom.”

Susan Harden, an UNCC professor and Mecklenburg County Commissioner, was at home when she heard of the shooting. She went to a staging area, she said, to provide support.

Harden said she has taught inside the Kennedy building, where the shootings occurred.

“It breaks my heart. We’re torn up about what’s happened,” Harden said. “Students should be able to learn in peace and in safety and professors ought to be able to do their jobs in safety.”

DON'T MISS

‘It’s Living Hell’: Nurses Say CA Addiction Recovery Program Ended Their Careers

DON'T MISS

Santa Who? Bizarre Christmas Traditions Stealing the Holiday Spotlight

DON'T MISS

New Decisions Boost California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate, but Major Hurdles Remain

DON'T MISS

Only $20K More to Bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Fresno

DON'T MISS

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

DON'T MISS

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

DON'T MISS

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

DON'T MISS

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

DON'T MISS

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

DON'T MISS

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

UP NEXT

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

UP NEXT

US Deportations Surge to Highest Level in a Decade Before Trump Takes Office

UP NEXT

White House Pushes to Find American Journalist Abducted in Syria

UP NEXT

Liberal Donors Plot to Overturn Republican House Majority in 2026

UP NEXT

The ‘Murder Hornet’ Has Been Eradicated From US, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments Over the Law That Could Ban TikTok

UP NEXT

Trump’s Picks for Top Health Jobs Not Just Team of Rivals but ‘Team of Opponents’

UP NEXT

Most US Teens Are Abstaining From Drinking, Smoking and Marijuana, Survey Says

UP NEXT

Mystery Drone Sightings Continue in New Jersey and Across the US. Here’s What We Know

UP NEXT

Drone Sightings Lead to Airspace Shutdown at Ohio Military Base, Arrests Near Boston Airport

Only $20K More to Bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Fresno

4 hours ago

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

20 hours ago

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

21 hours ago

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

22 hours ago

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

22 hours ago

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

22 hours ago

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

23 hours ago

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

23 hours ago

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

23 hours ago

9-Year-Old Among 5 Killed in Christmas Market Attack in Germany

23 hours ago

‘It’s Living Hell’: Nurses Say CA Addiction Recovery Program Ended Their Careers

Bobbie Sage thought nursing would be her salvation. She was trapped in an abusive relationship with four kids and looking for a steady incom...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

‘It’s Living Hell’: Nurses Say CA Addiction Recovery Program Ended Their Careers

4 hours ago

Santa Who? Bizarre Christmas Traditions Stealing the Holiday Spotlight

4 hours ago

New Decisions Boost California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate, but Major Hurdles Remain

4 hours ago

Only $20K More to Bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Fresno

20 hours ago

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

21 hours ago

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

22 hours ago

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

22 hours ago

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend