As of late Monday evening, a 19-year-old freshman student of Texas Tech University has been taken into custody and charged with the murder of an unidentified campus police officer, who had been shot dead a mere hour and a half earlier.
The suspect has been identified and detained by police forces.
Police had been sent to the suspect’s room for a standard welfare check and whilst inside found various drugs and drug paraphernalia; violating not only welfare protocol but campus regulations as well. Therefore, officers brought the male in suspect to the station for debriefing. However, before processing, a school spokesman states, “the suspect pulled a gun and shot an officer in the head” killing the officer instantly. The student ran from the station as campus police evaluated the situation and informed school officials, prompting a campus wide search and lockdown.
At around 9pm ET, Texas Tech’s twitter account tweeted an emergency update urging students to “shelter in place”, as the campus was placed on lockdown. The students, uninformed and afraid, waited for updates as the suspect fled from police and federal agents on foot.
About an hour and a half later, the 19-year-old male was caught by police. He was apprehended on campus and no other injuries have been recorded at this time. Shortly after the suspect had been taken into police custody, the lockdown was lifted and students were informed of what had taken place.
Texas Tech President Lawrence Shovanec later expressed his condolences regarding the death of the campus officer, “The family of the officer is in the thoughts and prayers of the Texas Tech community.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has stated that state law enforcement will be deployed to assist campus and local police forces in an investigation. He also expressed sympathy for those affected, “our hearts go out to the family of the police officer killed.”
This news story is still under development as students and faculty comprehend and act-upon the tragic events of Monday evening.