Who is Tailei Qi? Footage shows NCU students leaping out of windows after Wuhan student killed staff member
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: A Wuhan-educated physics grad student, Tailei Qi, went on a shooting spree on Monday, August 28 at the University of North Carolina campus at Chapel Hill, killing a member of staff and terrifying several students.
A video from the scene shows horrified students jumping to safety from the first-floor window of the chemistry building.
🚨 New video: Students spotted at @UNC jumping out of buildings after reports of active shooter on campus. The first news conference is scheduled for 5 PM today. WRAL confirmed 1 death. @WRAL pic.twitter.com/VbFi6g45rK
— Mark Boyle (@MarkBoyleTV) August 28, 2023
Is the UNC-Chapel Hill shooter under arrest?
As per WRAL, a faculty member has died in the shooting and a “person of interest” has been arrested. An image of the suspect sitting on the ground under the watch of deputies has been released by the news agency.
The Independent reports that a suspect was taken into custody after the shooting at NCU campus. The person was arrested from a residential area 10 minutes away from the campus.
The outlet also revealed that the weapon used in the shooting has not yet been recovered.
On Monday, UNC police chief Brian James said in a press conference, “We are looking for a firearm. It is too early to determine if the firearm was legally obtained, and we’re not prepared at this time to what kind of weapon it was.”
The police have not yet brought any charges against the suspected shooter, but Tailei Qi was identified as a person of interest by the police, per Daily Mail.
The investigators are also unsure about the motive of the shooting and have not yet released the identity of the deceased faculty member.
More on Tailei Qi
Qi is working as a PhD scholar and research assistant at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus since 2022. He has been enrolled as a student of the Department of Applied Physical Sciences.
As per the UNC website, the image of the suspect matches Qi’s ID photo. Previously, he is also said to have completed his master's in Material Science from Louisiana State University in 2021.
He studied at Wuhan University in 2015 and graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Physics with a minor in Business Administration and Management.
After that, he worked as a research assistant for almost two years at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Guangdong, China. He was also a researcher at the Suzhou Advanced Materials Research Institute.
Later he moved to the US to pursue higher education.
The mugshot image released by the police as the person of interest matches with Qi’s LinkedIn profile picture.
At around 1 pm, authorities initially sent the warning for an “armed and dangerous person” near the university’s Caudill Labs in Chapel Hill.
Soon the FBI arrived at the spot along with the state police. Sharing the photo, the police released a statement saying, “This photo shows a person of interest in today's armed and dangerous person situation. If you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911.”
Ayden Scott, someone who studied together with Qi, told WRAL, “I would have never guessed that he would be the kind of person who'd could possibly be capable of this kind of thing. He was always very quiet.”
“Every single time he would talk to me, he seemed very nice. When I saw his face in the reports online, I was beyond shocked,” added Scott.
Tailei Qi posted on August 1, "Would like to make some new friends. I am a second-year PhD student, interested in nanoparticle synthesis, optical trapping, self-assembly, spectra analysis, and ML. a bit stupid in daily trifles, very enthusiastic talking about research. Reach me if inerest (sic)."
would like to make some new friends. I am a second-year PhD student, interested in nanoparticle synthesis, optical trapping, self-assembly, spectra analysis, and ML. a bit stupid in daily trifles, very enthusiastic talking about research. Reach me if inerest. @PhDVoice @PhD_Genie
— Tailei Qi (@TaileiQi) August 1, 2023
How was the UNC-Chapel Hill campus secured?
At 1 pm, the university issued an alert to the students to maintain safety and avoid doors and windows until further notice. At least four agencies responded to the scene.
The students were also seen jumping from the first-floor windows to escape from the assailants. Students were also locked into safety in the gym locker room.
Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill confirmed the death of a staff member in a message saying, “I am grieved to report that one of our faculty members was killed in this shooting.”
He continued, “We are waiting for confirmation that the next of kin has been contacted before we share more information.”
“I am devastated and saddened by today’s shooting in one of our campus buildings, a place where we conduct our important work of teaching, mentoring and research every day,” the Chancellor wrote before adding, “This shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted on our campus.”
He concluded, “We will work to rebuild that trust and safety. Our hearts are with the family of our fellow faculty member, those who are personally connected to the victim and those traumatized by this senseless act of violence.”
All classes and non-mandatory operations were suspended on Monday.
UNC-Chapel Hill further issued a statement saying, “Due to today’s incident on campus, UNC-Chapel Hill will operate at a Condition 2 on Tuesday." Condition 2 is a step shorter than complete campus lockdown.