UNC-Chapel Hill students were urged to shelter in place Monday afternoon after reports that an "armed and dangerous" gunman was on campus.
According to local reports, a faculty member was killed by the alleged shooter, who is now in custody.
Those reports also identify Tailei Qi, seen here in an undated UNC-CH Applied Physical Sciences student profile photo, as the man arrested and taken into custody. Information from that profile shows that he also studied at Wuhan University:
Person of interest Tailei Qi studied at Wuhan University, according to a website run by UNC-Chapel Hill, which collaborated with the Wuhan Virology Institute, where gain-of-function research was funded by Fauci's NIH. An armed suspect fired a shot near the campus lab, wounding 1. pic.twitter.com/XtJB9vvipt
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) August 28, 2023
Here are videos of his arrest as well as photos taken at the scene:
#Update #UNC #uncchapelhill This is video of Tailei Qi, the suspect who was arrested in conjunction with the lockdown on UNC’s campus. Mario Tornero-Vila, 22, is a neighbor who captured this footage and shared it with us. @SpecNews1RDU pic.twitter.com/CtHi6UFWKT
— Patrick Karl Thomas (@PatThomasNews) August 28, 2023
NEW VIDEO: Person arrested in connection to @UNC shooting. @WRAL pic.twitter.com/zmRSDKiEa4
— Mark Boyle (@MarkBoyleTV) August 28, 2023
Possible Suspect (Tailei Qi) at Large In Custody (Waiting to Confirm) @UNC Chapel Hill continues to be on lockdown. Stay Sheltered until All Clear. #ChapelHill #ActiveShooter
— Christopher Hale (@Chrishale92) August 28, 2023
Tailei Qi - UNC Graduate Student
LinkedIn Profile attached. pic.twitter.com/5yEW9I7kge
Qi's alleged LinkedIn profile shows him listing his preferred pronouns, as well as more information about his graduate studies:
BREAKING: Tailei Qi, a UNC at Chapel Hill graduate student, has been identified as a person of interest in the "armed and dangerous person situation" on/near campus. pic.twitter.com/sh0cFb7b0i
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) August 28, 2023
A Twitter account created in September 2021, with the same photo and name as the ones listed on the UNC profile, appears to have last been used on August 15th to issue a "congrats" to someone the Twitter user referred to as "Dr. Eybposh," who also appears to be a student.
In a July 31 tweet, the person who runs the Qi account tweeted the following message seeking friendship:
would like to make some new friends. I am a second-year PhD student, interested in nanoparticle synthesis, optical trapping, self-assembly, spectra analysis, and ML. a bit stupid in daily trifles, very enthusiastic talking about research. Reach me if inerest. @PhDVoice @PhD_Genie
However, in June, this disturbing message was posted to the Qi account, in reply to something else written by the same author - though that tweet, too,, has since been deleted:
Tweet from a Twitter account with a photo that matches suspected #UNC Chapel Hill gunman Tailei Qi. Account was created in Sept. 2021. pic.twitter.com/UBCp5YNNoT
— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) August 28, 2023
On December 9, 2022, this was posted in response to a tweet written by the same author that was also deleted:
Truth is always too hurt to admit. But I choose not to spend time on her any more. How long will people forget about her? Even I don't know who she is literally. No matter what, just let her go. We can enjoy some quite time to sit down and look the outside world
The last two tweets have led to speculation about Qi's motives, though they are unknown at this time.
UNC police have since issued an "all clear," though they are advising students to steer clear of Caudil Labs as the investigation continues into what happened and the motive. All classes for the day are canceled.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RedState for updates.
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