On Monday, an active shooter incident was reported at the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Chapel Hill campus, resulting in the death of a faculty member. Soon after the incident, the university promptly initiated its
active shooter alerts, placing the campus under lockdown. The tragic event transpired in
Caudill Labs, a science building on the campus at around 1:00 PM local time.
The alert led to staff, students, and faculty members barricading themselves in classrooms and offices. The lockdown continued until the suspected shooter, identified as
Tailei Qi, a UNC Chapel Hill graduate student, was
apprehended by the police at around 2:30 PM local time.
The incident induced renewed calls for more strict gun laws, especially in the context of educational institutions. Advocacy groups like March For Our Lives commented on the situation, criticizing current legislative action with regard to gun control. Students and staff across the UNC Chapel Hill campus have echoed this sentiment on various social media platforms, expressing their fear and calling for legislative changes.
Importantly, this shooting comes after a significant legal change in North Carolina’s gun laws. In March, state lawmakers
overrode Governor Roy Cooper’s veto to pass a law that allows North Carolinians to purchase a gun without a prior permit from the sheriff or a background check. Supporters of the law argued it guaranteed and secured
Second Amendment rights for North Carolinians.
Regrettably, shootings in schools and universities have become a common occurrence in the United States since the tragic
1999 Columbine High School shooting. The total number of school shootings since 1999 is
386, with 46 of these incidents taking place in 2022 alone.