Photo via Twitter/City of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
A fatal shooting on the campus of Central Michigan University has left many confused and searching for answers. James Eric Davis Jr. shot and killed his parents in his dorm room, placing the campus on lockdown Friday.
The 19-year old shot his parents around 8:40 AM on Friday after the couple picked him up from the hospital, where he was sent by police officers the night before for suspected drug use and erratic behavior, according to Time.
Video surveillance showed Davis Jr. leaving his dorm room, going to his parent’s vehicle and returning with a handgun that belonged to his father, James Davis Sr., a police officer in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood. Davis Jr.’s mother, Diva Jeneen Davis, was a real estate broker.
Diva Jeneen Davis via Facebook
Davis Jr. fled after the shooting, and was arrested on Saturday morning after an extensive manhunt. During a news conference on Friday, police said that he had been hospitalized the night before due to drug complications, and remains hospitalized in police custody.
He is now facing two counts of murder charges and a weapons violation. Additionally his bail has been set at $3 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Davis Jr.’s older brother, Russell Matthew Davis, spoke out about the shooting and is asking the public not to judge the shooter. At a time when everyone wants someone to blame, Davis Jr.’s brother is not abandoning him.
“Please don’t make a villain of my brother,” he said in a Facebook post. “That is NOT who he is… and despite the circumstances, he also lost a mother and father… And I LOVE him. Consider that!”
While the motive for the shooting still remains unclear, the broader issue of gun violence is affecting elementary schools, high schools, and colleges around the country. In the recent Parkland, Florida shooting, 17 high school students were fatally shot.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims during this difficult time.
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