DETROIT — A Central Michigan University student allegedly shot and killed his parents Friday morning in a fourth-floor dorm room, sources told the Detroit Free Press.
James Eric Davis Jr., is listed as a sophomore in CMU’s student directory.
Sources told the Free Press his parents arrived on campus Friday morning to pick him up for spring break and were shot and killed.
Police said they had contact with the student late Thursday night and took him to a local hospital, where he was turned over to the medical staff for what police believe may have been some sort of drug-related issue.
Davis was released from the hospital Friday morning, shortly before the shooting.
The suspect was still at large and considered armed and dangerous. The entire CMU campus and most of the city of Mt. Pleasant, where the university is located, was in lockdown mode while police from local, state and federal agencies searched the area.
The lockdown included K-12 schools and many local businesses, such as a Target and other big block stores near the university, were closed as police helicopters circled overhead.
At O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grille near CMU, a longtime popular gathering spot for CMU students, staff were keeping the back door locked but letting customers in as they arrived. Even with spring break starting, Friday, during the Big 10 basketball tournament, is a busy day at the bar, said owner Cheryl Hunter.
“We’re just making sure that our patrons are safe,” Hunter said. “It is a bit of a shock.”
Any kind of killing is unusual in Mt. Pleasant, she said.
“This young man, who obviously is troubled, killed his parents, and that’s very sad.”
Police said cameras located in the common area and exits of the dorm captured Davis leaving the dorm, heading north and running along train tracks. Police said they had recovered pieces of clothing along the tracks.
Davis is a black male, approximately 19 years old, 5-feet-10 and 135 pounds.
According to the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, the suspect may have been released from the hospital before 8 a.m. on Friday.
Friday is the last day before CMU’s spring break. Many students had already left campus.
CMU is a university of about 25,000 students, located in mid-Michigan. It is about an hour north of Lansing, the state capital and about 2 1/2 hours northwest of Detroit.
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