The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

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Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:36 PM

Manhunt Underway For Central Michigan Shooter Who Killed Two People Inside Dorm Building Early Friday

Davis is considered “armed and dangerous.”

Lt. Larry Klaus said surveillance video suggests that Davis fled on foot after the shooting.

The two people killed were not students at the university. It was not immediately clear the relationship between Davis and the two people killed.

Police declined to confirm a Detroit Free Press report citing unnamed sources that said the suspect had fatally shot his parents when they came to pick him up for spring break.

My sincerest condolences go out to the family of Bellwood Police Officer James Davis. Sr. and his wife who were shot and killed this morning," he continued. "May they RIP."

According to Davis' Twitter page, he was a sophomore at Central Michigan University slated to graduate in 2020.

Officials described Davis as being approximately 5 foot 9 inches tall. He was last seen wearing yellow-colored jeans and a blue hoodie with a weapon tucked in his belt. Officials said he may have shed certain clothes while on the run.

Klaus said Davis was taken to a local hospital Thursday night with a drug-related injury, possibly an overdose, but would not elaborate more.

WJBK, citing Mt. Pleasant police, reported the victims were Diva and James Davis Sr., the suspect's parents. The elder Davis was also a part-time police officer in Bellwood, Illinois, Bellwood Police Chief Jiminez Allen told the outlet.

"The priority right now is the safety of those still on campus and I thank all first responders involved for their swift action," he continued in a tweet.

Sen. Gary Peter said he was “deeply saddened” by another “tragic incident of gun violence.”

Senator Gary Peters
✔
@SenGaryPeters
Deeply saddened to see another tragic incident of gun violence, this time in Michigan. I am heartbroken for the victims and praying for the safety of Mount Pleasant and @CMUniversity community as first responders work to apprehend the shooter.

“I am heartbroken for the victims and praying for the safety of Mount Pleasant and @CMUniversity community as first responders work to apprehend the shooter,” he tweeted.

A men’s basketball game scheduled for tonight between Central Michigan and Western Michigan University was postponed. No makeup date has been announced.

Central Michigan has about 23,000 students. The campus is in Mount Pleasant, about 70 miles north of Lansing.

Fox News' Kathleen Joyce, Shira Bush, Elizabeth Zwirz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The suspect is from Plainfield, Illinois and graduated high school in 2016, according to spokesman Tom Hernandez of the Plainfield School District.

Illinois State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch confirmed the deaths on Twitter, calling it "a sad day in Bellwood" and said the shooting "strikes close to home."
Central Michigan University went on lockdown after students and faculty were sent emergency alerts around 9 a.m. on Friday.

Halie Byron, 20, said she locked herself in her off-campus house, about a 10-minute walk from Campbell Hall. She had planned to run errands before traveling home to the Detroit area.

"It's scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere — a classroom, a library. There's so much easy access," Byron said.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he has been in contact with local police to "determine what has occurred at Central Michigan University."