Two dead in Central Michigan campus shooting

UPDATE: Central Michigan University Police Chief Bill Yeagley told reporters Saturday that the gun used in Friday’s shooting was registered to the suspect’s father, James Davis Sr. Yeagley would not say whether the father brought the gun to campus, but noted that the suspect, James Eric Davis Jr., was seen on surveillance video with the gun in the residence hall parking lot before he went into the building where his parents were shot and killed. Yeagley also would not identify the type of gun used or whether it was the service revolver belonging to Davis Sr., a part-time police officer in Bellwood, Ill.

UPDATE (8:59 a.m.): Police apprehended the Central Michigan University student suspected of killing his parents early Saturday. A person on a train traveling through the north end of campus spotted James Eric Davis Jr., 19, along the tracks shortly after midnight and summoned police, who arrested the suspect without incident, according to a release posted on Central Michigan’s emergency communication website. The shooting occurred on campus around 8:30 a.m. Friday at Campbell Hall, a residence hall where parents were scheduled to pick up students for spring break. CMU Police Lt. Larry Klaus said campus police took the suspect to a hospital the night before the shooting because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose. “Whether there was a mental health component that was in conjunction with that, we don’t know,” Klaus told reporters, adding that police were continuing an investigation about the shooting and any motive. The suspect’s father, James Davis Sr., was a part-time police officer in Bellwood, Ill., a Chicago suburb. Bellwood Police Chief Jiminez Allen said the elder Davis’ “contributions to our community positively impacted everyone he served and served with.”

UPDATE (3/02/18, 7:13 pm): Police continue to search for a 19-year-old student suspected of fatally shooting his parents at a dormitory at Central Michigan University Friday and then fleeing on foot. Authorities released a photo of the suspect, James Eric Davis Jr., urging anyone who sees him not to confront him but instead call 911. “He should be considered armed and dangerous,” said CMU Police Lt. Larry Klaus. University officials identified the two dead as James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis from Plainfield, Ill. The shooting occurred as parents arrived on campus to pick up students leaving for spring break.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (3/02/18, 1:17 p.m.): A shooting that killed two people at Central Michigan University appears to have stemmed from a domestic dispute, police said Friday. The victims were not students. Officials reported no other injuries and were looking for a 19-year-old suspect identified as James Eric Davis Jr. The campus was on lockdown Friday morning, the final day of classes before spring break. Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich., has an enrollment of about 23,000 students.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to note that James Eric Davis Jr. was found early Saturday morning along train tracks and not on board a train.