Update: Mother, Father Killed by Son at Central Michigan University
The 19-year-old suspect was reportedly acting oddly before he shot his parents in his dormitory at Central Michigan University.
The suspect has been identified as sophomore James Eric Davis Jr.
A Central Michigan University student has been charged with murder in the shooting deaths of his parents inside his dorm room Friday morning.
The suspect, 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr., was apprehended at approximately 1 a.m. on Saturday following an intense 15-hour manhunt that forced the Mount Pleasant school into lockdown on the last day of classes before Spring Break.
Classes were canceled and students were told to shelter in place or avoid the area. Parents heading to campus to pick up their children for spring break were redirected to a local Comfort Inn, according to a press release from the school.
All city buildings, including McLaren Hospital and Sacred Heart Academy, were also placed on lockdown and were not accessible to the public. Mount Pleasant, Midland, Coleman, Meridian and Bullock Creek Schools were also placed on lockdown.
More than 100 police officers, including aviation and canine units, searched for Davis in the Mount Pleasant area. He was taken into custody without incident after a train operator told police he spotted the suspect on train tracks that pass through the north end of campus, according to ABC News.
The victims have been identified as 48-year-old James E. Davis Sr. and 37-year-old Diva J. Davis. CMU chief of police Bill Yeagley says a gun recovered at the scene was registered to Mr. Davis, who is an Illinois police officer, reports The New York Times.
Suspect Was Acting Strangely, Not Making Sense
Davis Jr. had reportedly been acting strangely the day before the shooting, says Yeagley. He approached campus officers on Thursday, indicating he was in danger.
“He said someone was out to hurt him, someone was going to harm him,” recalled Yeagley, adding that Davis referred to someone who had a gun, but made statements that were “very vague” and did not make sense.
Police determined he was not a threat and asked him how they could help.
“He said, ‘I’m fine. I’m going home in the morning, so I’ll be good,’” Yeagley said.
A few hours later, officers encountered Davis in a dorm hallway where he again began speaking nonsensically and told police that he was under the influence of drugs. Officers called his parents to inform them of his concerning behavior and helped check him into MidMichigan Health Hospital Thursday night. He was released Friday morning to his parents who returned him to campus.
Yeagley says Davis appeared to be making trips back and forth between his dorm and his parents’ car with his belongings. According to an eyewitness and video footage, during one of the trips, he brought a gun from the parking lot to his fourth-floor dorm room where he killed his parents.
On Saturday afternoon, university police said Davis was in police custody at a hospital where he was charged with two counts of murder and one count of possession of a weapon to commit murder.
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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