Police seek student suspected of killing his parents at Central Michigan University
Father was a part-time police officer, suspect, 19, called armed and dangerous
Police in camouflage searched house-to-house near the campus of Central Michigan University on Friday for a student suspected of fatally shooting his parents at a dormitory and fleeing into the neighbourhood.
Police are searching for James Eric Davis Jr., and are asking the public to call 911 if they see him, but warning the 19-year-old shouldn't be confronted.
"He should be considered armed and dangerous," said campus police Lt. Larry Klaus said.
Slain father was a police officer
The university says the shooting victims are James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis. Records show they're from Plainfield, Illinois.
The CMU Police Department has identified the victims in this morning's campus shooting as James Eric Davis, Sr., and Diva Jeneen Davis, both 47 years old. The victims are the father and mother of the suspect, who remains at large.
—@CMUniversityIllinois authorities have confirmed that one of the two victims of the Central Michigan University shooting was a police officer.
Bellwood, Ill., Mayor Andre Harvey says residents of the Chicago suburb are saddened by the death of James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis. James Davis Sr. was a part-time police officer in Bellwood.
Illinois State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch tweeted condolences to the Davis family.
The shooting at Central Michigan University today strikes close to home. A sad day in Bellwood and across the 7th District. 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. May they RIP. <a href="https://t.co/B0cykAxFVv">pic.twitter.com/B0cykAxFVv</a>
—@RepChrisWelchKlaus said surveillance footage shows a man fled on foot. He was wearing a black hoodie and mustard-yellow jeans, but apparently has been shedding clothes since the shooting.
He added Davis Jr. was taken to a hospital Thursday night by campus police because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose.
Davis Jr. is from Plainfield, Ill., a suburban community south of Chicago. He graduated from Central High School in 2016, said Tom Hernandez, a spokesperson for Plainfield School District 202.
The university said no other injuries have been reported.
Warning issued to stay off campus
The shooting happened on the last day of classes before a week-long break. Parents trying to pick up students at the school were being asked to stay off campus. The school said parents are being told to go to a hotel in Mount Pleasant where staff would assist them.
One student, Tyler Whipple, was driving through campus when his route was blocked off by police cars at the scene of the killings. He had to catch a flight to Florida.
"These roads are kind of spooky right now," Whipple said.
Another student said she locked herself in her off-campus house, which is about a 10-minute walk from the residence hall. She said it's "scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere."
Students and staff in the Mount Pleasant school district were told not to leave several buildings. Visitors also weren't being allowed to enter.
The school posted an alert around 9:30 a.m. ET on its Facebook page about shots being fired at the campus residence hall. An automated phone message from the school was sent to students.
Central Michigan University has about 23,000 students in Mount Pleasant, about 110 kilometres north of Lansing.