US: University of North Carolina faculty member fatally shot on campus

CHAPEL HILL: A faculty member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was shot dead on campus on Monday afternoon, and a suspect has been taken into custody, according to a school spokesman, CNN reported.

The incident caused people to seek shelter for several hours while police investigated.

At 1:02 pm ET, shots were reportedly fired at the school's Caudill Laboratories.

Shortly after 2:30 pm, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz confirmed that a suspect had been taken into custody. The suspect's and the faculty member's names were not right away disclosed.

UNC Police Chief Brian James stated on Monday night that it was still too early to determine the motive behind the shooting, according to CNN.

“We really want to know the ‘why’ in this case and what led to it,” James said, adding that the gun used in the shooting had not been found.

“This loss is devastating and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community. We will work to rebuild that sense of trust and safety within our community,” Guskiewicz said, as reported by CNN.

Around 1 pm, the school had sent out a warning to the students instructing them to take cover, later adding that a suspect was still at large. Later on in the afternoon, the university gave the "all clear".

According to officials, classes and campus events on Monday and Tuesday were cancelled. The school's second week of the fall semester is currently underway. Around 32,000 students attend the university, together with over 4,000 faculty members and 9,000 staff personnel, CNN reported.