A college campus community shaken by a gunman that opened fire Friday, killing two people and prompting a massive manhunt, was looking for answers Saturday and reassessing safety efforts.
Central Michigan University student James Eric Davis Jr. was taken into custody early Saturday; his parents were shot and killed Friday after traveling to campus to pick him up, police said.
CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley said Saturday the gun found at the scene was registered to Davis' father, James Eric Davis, Sr., a Bellwood, Illinois police officer. He and wife Diva Jeneen Davis were both killed in Campbell Hall, police said.
Video surveillance showed Davis Jr., 19, carrying a gun in a parking lot and it was also seen by a witness, according to Yeagley, who spoke at a news conference on Saturday.
Yeagley said that while security does monitor those entering residence halls, Friday was a day of spring break move-out and it was not unusual for parents and students to be coming and going through unmonitored entryways.
Yeagley said the gun's presence on campus was a violation of CMU's weapons policy, which states only campus law enforcement or officers with approval are able to be on campus armed.
Police arrested Davis Jr., Yeagley said, after receiving a tip from a nearby train company that operators noticed a person standing near the tracks just after midnight.
Central Michigan University Police Department Chief Bill Yeagley speaks during a news conference at CMU in Mount Pleasant on Saturday, March 3, 2018. (Photo: Casey Sykes, The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
Yeagley said Davis Jr. appeared to be hypothermic and was not making sense, so police transported him to an area hospital.
He is in custody and under guard until medical professionals clear him for transport. Yeagley said he will be lodged at the Isabella County Jail.
Police interaction with Davis, Jr. began Thursday, when he told a CMU community policing officer stationed in his residence hall that he was frightened someone he knew got a gun and that they were going to hurt him, according to Yeagley.
"Mr Davis was very vague..." Yeagley said, "Everything was very vague, so we got other officers involved."
Police obtained the name of the person Davis, Jr. feared and reviewed footage of him riding in an elevator and laughing with this person. Police contacted the individual and determined that person had no registered weapon and was not a risk.
Officers told Davis, Jr. they determined there was no threat and asked how they could make him feel safe. Yeagley said Davis, Jr. informed them he would be going home in the morning.
A crime scene response vehicle is parked outside Central Michigan University's Campbell Hall after a fatal shooting, Friday, March 2, 2018, in Mount Pleasant. (Photo: Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press-MLive.com via Associated Press)
However, around three to four hours later, Yeagley said officers in the area saw Davis, Jr. in the hallway with a number of suitcases and bags, acting in a fashion "that is not reasonable or logical."
An officer asked Davis, Jr. to call his parents and Yeagley said the officer spoke to his mother about what they observed and shared concern that it might be drugs. Yeagley said Davis, Jr.'s mother shared this concern and said she and his father would be coming up to campus right away. Officers then took Davis, Jr. to the hospital to get checked out.
"He stayed until the following morning when he was picked up by his parents and came back to Campbell Hall ..." Yeagley said. "There is one witness who stated Mr. Davis was seen coming from the parking lot into the residence hall with a gun in his hand."
Yeagley said the gun was taken up to the fourth floor of Campbell Hall. Davis Jr.'s father and mother were shot on that floor, police said.
Davis Jr. was then seen leaving and heading north along the railroad tracks.
The campus and the surrounding community were placed on lock down during the manhunt for Davis, Jr. that involved local, state and federal agencies.
Mt. Pleasant City Police Director Paul Lauria said a perimeter was set up once the suspect left campus and entered the city's jurisdiction. He said police surrounded the railroad tracks and conducted a search of nearby Mill Pond Park.
Lauria said police also worked with Mt. Pleasant Public Schools and instituted a lockdown while the suspect was at large. He said parents picked up students at dismissal with police presence and that rotating rolling patrols were in effect with the use of personnel from Michigan State Police.
Mt. Pleasant Mayor Allison Lents commended the community during the press conference for their response in light of tragedy and their cooperation with law enforcement.
"We're an amazing example of how in adverse times, we can take care of each other," she said.
Central Michigan University President George Ross speaks during a news conference at CMU in Mount Pleasant on Saturday, March 3, 2018. (Photo: Casey Sykes, The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
CMU President George E. Ross said the university will be responding to this incident by re-doubling safety efforts and offering professional counseling to students after they return from spring break.
Ross commended the law enforcement officers from various agencies, lauded the campus community for locking down within minutes and sheltering in place, and also extended his condolences to the Davis family.
Ross also thanked Gov. Rick Snyder for his response to the incident yesterday and for coming to the campus.
He said CMU's campus and community is traumatized after yesterday.
"We read about shooters on campuses across this country and communities, we talk about it, we practice what would happen if it happens here, and never envisioned it could happen at CMU. We are a safe community. We are a safe campus, but yesterday we demonstrated our ability to deal with the inconceivable," he said.
"... We're not done yet, there were thousands of people on campus yesterday, and they're going to be dealing with this for the rest of their lives."
Staff writers David Jesse and Paul Egan contributed, as well as Lansing State Journal reporter RJ Wolcott. Contact reporter Aleanna Siacon at ASiacon@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon.
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