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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was on lockdown Monday and a suspect was “at large” following reports of an “armed and dangerous” person on or near campus.
UNC-Chapel Hill Police released a picture of the suspect and wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “if you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911.” All classes and events were canceled for the rest of the day.
There were reports of at least one shot fired and one gunshot wound in Caudill Labs on South Road, according to the student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel. Alert Carolina confirmed the suspect was still at large despite previous reports that a suspect was in custody.
Videos on social media show dozens of police officers responding to the scene and a helicopter flying over the campus. People in the video are also seen running away from the buildings.
The alert was originally issued by Alert Carolina at 1:03 p.m. ET, advising all students, staff and faculty to shelter in place. An updated alert was sent out stating the shelter-in-place was still in effect. People were asked to stay off campus and those on campus were asked to stay in place.
Classes this semester began Aug. 21.
Beth Morocco, a public health professor who researches violence, told ABC11 she was in a faculty meeting when the alert came in.
“It’s usually a time of energy and enthusiasm, and to have something like this happen is really awful,” she told the station as she was locked down in her office.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said on X that he had spoken with Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood (D) and Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Eddie M. Buffaloe Jr. and “pledged all state resources needed to capture the shooter and protect the UNC campus.”
Cooper, who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from UNC, said on X “this is a tragic way to start a new semester and the state will provide any assistance necessary to support the UNC community.”
Chapel Hill transit buses stopped operations Monday “following directions of campus and law enforcement officials” while the area near the bell tower on campus was closed off, according to WRAL News.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, which are near the Chapel Hill campus and was open for the first day of class this school calendar, said on X they would not be releasing students to their families until it is deemed safe, although the normal dismissal time is 2:35 p.m. ET. All afterschool activities for schools in the district were canceled Monday.
In an alert on its website, the district said “dismissal at all levels of school will be significantly delayed today.”
“We do not yet know what time it will be considered safe to dismiss students and staff during this ongoing situation,” the district said on X.
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