Campus police say they had several run-ins with 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr. the night before he allegedly shot his parents at Central Michigan University
A 19-year-old college student accused of killing his parents in a dorm had multiple run-ins with the Central Michigan University police the day before the shooting, officers have said.
CMU Police Chief William Yeagley said James Eric Davis Jr ‘ran into the office of our community policing officer very frightened’ on Thursday morning, the day before he allegedly killed 47-year-old Diva Davis and 48-year-old Chicago cop James Eric Davis Sr.
According to Yeagley, Davis Jr said someone was ‘out to hurt him’ but when asked about details he was ‘extremely vague’, NBC News reported.
Campus police even launched an investigation into the student’s claims and interviewed a man Davis Jr said was armed and wanted to harm him. They concluded the man posed no risk to Davis Jr or anyone else.
Officers saw Davis Jr in the hallway of a dorm hours later with packed bags, looking like he was about to move out. Yeagley said the student mas not making sense and officers, suspecting he may be on drugs, decided to call his parents.
‘The officer said we had some suspicion it might be drugs, does he have a drug history?’ Yeagley said. ‘The mother said she too is concerned this could be drugs.’
Chief William Yeagley said campus officers called his parents to pick him up after they took him to the hospital for erratic behavior (Diva Davis, 47, left, and James Eric Davis Sr., 48 , right
According to Yeagley, Davis Jr said someone was ‘out to hurt him’ but when asked about details he was ‘extremely vague
Davis Jr was then taken the hospital for evaluation and remained there overnight. His parents drove about four hours from the Chicago area to Mt Pleasant to pick him up.
He was discharged on Friday morning, just before he allegedly shot his parents dead at about 8.30am on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall, a co-ed dorm. No one else was injured.
He was arrested after a 12-hour manhunt and has been charged with two counts of murder. Yeagley said alleged gunman appeared incoherent and suffering from hypothermia and is currently under guard at a hospital.
Authorities say Davis Jr was captured on video on Friday as he entered the dorm hall with a gun believed to have been his father’s. According to the university, the student went to the family car to pick up the weapon just before the shooting.
CMU Police Chief William Yeagley said James Eric Davis Jr ‘ran into the office of our community policing officer very frightened’ on Thursday morning
Police believed the suspect had an ‘overdose or bad reaction’ and took him to McLaren Central Michigan hospital in Mount Pleasant (pictured)
He was released from the hospital on Friday morning, just before he allegedly shot his parents to death at about 8.30am on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall, a co-ed dorm (pictured)
News of the shooting has shocked the college student’s friends and neighbors, who have have told the Chicago Tribune Davis Jr was a good, quiet and polite kid from a good and loving family.
‘Junior was a very respectful man, raised by upstanding parents, who would do anything to protect him and his siblings,’ longtime family friend Jordan Murphy said.
‘This is an incredibly tragic event, and I pray for Eric’s other children. This is so incredibly out of character, something went wrong somewhere.’
Murphy also said the slain couple, who had another son and a daughter, were ‘ever-present parents who doted on their children.’
Friends and neighbors of the suspect have said they are shocked by the shooting and that Davis Jr was a good kid from a loving family
Friday’s shooting paralyzed the small college town in Michigan.
The school posted to their Facebook on Friday morning around 9.30am, telling students to shelter in place and avoid the area around Campbell Hall. Classes were cancelled for the day.
An automated phone message from the school also was sent to students Friday morning.
Surrounding schools, hospitals and offices were placed on lockdown.
Friday was the last day of classes for Spring Break, so many parents were headed to the campus to pick students up.
Central Michigan University has about 23,000 students in Mount Pleasant, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing.
After the shooting, Davis ran north away from the apartment buildings. Police arrested him early Saturday morning after a 12-hour manhunt
Central Michigan University has about 23,000 students in Mount Pleasant, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing