x
Breaking News
More () »

Reaction to CMU shooting: 'This is Mount Pleasant. It doesn't happen here.'

When shots rang out about 9:30 a.m. Friday on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall, the university was winding down toward next week's spring break.
Credit: MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal
Christina Martinez of Mt. Pleasant arrives home with her baby in tow to find armed police searching her neighborhood for a man who reportedly shot and killed two people in a dorm on the campus of Central Michigan University Friday, March 2, 2018.

Even as SWAT teams and police dogs scoured the neighborhoods around Central Michigan University looking for the suspect in a double shooting, the reaction among students and residents was one of disbelief.

"It's crazy to think that it could happen in our community," said Dennis Lionberger, a graduate student studying health-care administration at CMU. "It doesn't make sense to me that something could happen like this."

As Lionberger spoke, helicopters flew overhead as part of the search for the suspect, 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr. He is from the Chicago area and listed in a campus directory as a sophomore.

CMU officials confirmed Friday night that the the two people killed in a campus dorm were Davis Jr.'s parents, James Davis Sr. and his wife Diva, of Bellwood, Illinois.

When shots rang out about 9:30 a.m. Friday on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall, the university was winding down toward next week's spring break. An academic calendar on CMU's website said residence halls on the 23,000 student campus were to close at noon Saturday and reopen at noon March 11.

Police prepare to search a neighborhood near Central

Police prepare to search a neighborhood near Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Friday, March 2, 2018, looking for a man who reportdly shot and killed two people in a dorm earlier in the morning. MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal

What we know:James Eric Davis Jr., CMU shooting suspect

Jordyn Hermani, editor in chief of the CMLife campus newspaper, said her staff had published a story earlier in the week about what to do in an active-shooter situation.

"We didn't ever think this would be something that we would ever see come into fruition," she said.

Eerily, the staff also had discussed what to do as a work place and what to do as a media organization should campus face an active-shooter situation.

In a neighborhood near campus, Kelcey and David Allen peered anxiously from their front porch as police in SWAT gear searched for the shooting suspect Friday afternoon.

Kelcey and David Allen, both Central Michigan University alumni, live near campus where police searched for a shooting suspect Friday. Kelcey said incidents in the neighborhood are seldom more serious than a wandering drunk student. (Photo: Sarah Lehr/Lansing State Journal)

The couple, who met while attending CMU, say incidents in their Mount Pleasant neighborhood are seldom more serious than a wandering intoxicated student.

“This is Mount Pleasant,” Kelcey Allen said. “It doesn’t happen here.”

Mount Pleasant resident Christina Martinez had been on the east side of town with her infant son and her phone was dead. She arrived home to find police in tactical gear searching her neighborhood.

"Fortunately I was able to get him inside safely," she said from behind her front door while cradling her son in her arms. "I was so scared. My heart is still pounding."

Matthew Dae Smith contributed to this report. Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com.

Michigan State Police search neighborhoods near Oak and Mill in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, for a man who shot and killed two people in a dorm on the campus of Central Michigan University, Friday, March 2, 2018. (Photo: MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal)

Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.

Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.

Before You Leave, Check This Out