On August 28th of this year, at around one p.m., shots were fired at Chapel Hill’s Caudill Labs. Just hardly two minutes after the 911 call was made to alert local police, text messages and emails were sent out, advising students on campus to shelter inside due to the armed person. The shooting killed an associate professor at the University, whose name has just been released, alongside the suspect.  

Taken into custody at 2:38 p.m. that fatal Monday, Tailei Qi was a graduate student at the University in question. He was found and promptly arrested in a neighborhood close to the campus, thus being charged with first-degree murder

and having a weapon on educational property. Authorities said Qi walked into the building, shot the faculty member, and then proceeded to swiftly leave after doing so. He made his first appearance in a courtroom on Tuesday, his hands cuffed in front of him as he entered. He was accompanied by an interpreter and his assigned public defender, Jeff Nleman. If Qi is convicted, he will face a minimum of a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder charge and up to two years for the weapon charge. In North Carolina, the maximum sentence for first-degree murder is the death penalty, but Nleman has said his office policy is to not have this occur. Along with this, the victim has also been identified, being none other than beloved Professor Zijie Yan. 

Yan was not only a professor at Chapel Hill since 2019, but also a dedicated father of two.  “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Yan family, especially his two young children, and our faculty, staff, and students,” The chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees stated, “The Board of Trustees stands in support of recovery efforts as the campus community finds its way forward. We are committed to providing the necessary resources to the professionals on campus who provide mental health and other support services to the university community, as well as public safety efforts to support and keep the campus safe.” On Wednesday, August 30th, the campus honored Yan with the ring of the Bell Tower and took a moment of silence. They also conducted a candlelight vigil for the professor later that evening. At the base of the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, a memorial

was crafted where members of the community brought flowers, letters, and artwork to honor Yan. “He [Yan] was a beloved colleague, mentor, and a friend to so many on our campus,” Gusklewlcz stated, a UNC Chancellor. Additionally, Gusklewlcz said, “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 hard to rebuild that sense of trust and safety within our community.”