Campus Police Fatally Wound Student Holding Axe

Administrators at the University of North Texas issued a statement offering their condolences to the people involved and their families.

12/17 Update: A video of the shooting has been released by police and appears to show McMillan telling the university police to shoot him. The video is included below.

Campus police at the University of North Texas shot and killed a student who was walking around with an axe near campus on Dec. 13.

Ryan McMillan, who had turned 21 that day, died at Denton Regional Medical Center after being shot multiple times by campus police.

The officers were responding to a report of a man breaking car windows in the school’s U Centre parking lot when they saw McMillan holding an axe two blocks from campus. When McMillan approached the police, one officer opened fire, according to the NY Daily News. A cell phone video allegedly shows McMillan walking in the university parking lot minutes before the shooting and someone at the scene said they heard three gunshots in total.

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The officer who fired his weapon has been placed on administrative duty and the shooting is being investigated by the Texas Rangers and the Denton Police Department.

McMillan, who one classmate speculated might have had too much to drink, had recently transferred from Weatherford College.

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