Two shot dead at US university, suspect at large

CHICAGO: Two people were shot dead on Friday on the campus of a university in the US state of Michigan, setting off a manhunt for the suspected shooter.

Central Michigan University said the two people killed at a campus dormitory were not students, but did not offer further details on their identities.

The university described the incident as a “domestic situation.”

There were no other casualties.

“Two individuals were fatally shot at Campbell Hall on campus this morning. The deceased are not students and police believe the situation started from a domestic situation,” the university said in a statement.

“Campus is on lockdown as the suspect is still at large,” the school said several hours after the incident occurred.

The university identified the suspected shooter as James Eric Davis, “a black male, approximately 19 years of age.”

Police were scouring the campus and surrounding areas, with helicopters overhead and officers searching on foot.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms were sent to the scene in the central Michigan city of Mount Pleasant to assist local police.

The incident came two weeks after 17 people were shot dead at a Florida high school, sparking a renewed debate over pervasive gun violence.

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland have made powerful appeals for change to permissive US gun laws in the wake of the shooting. They returned to campus Wednesday amid heavy security.

The Florida gunman, who had a history run-ins with law enforcement, used a semi-automatic assault rifle in the shooting.

President Donald Trump had called for training and arming some teachers, tougher background checks and a potential increase to the minimum age for rifle purchases.

But the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby said that Trump was opposed to gun control after meeting with him on Thursday.