PICTURED: North Carolina university shooting victim is identified as Zijie Yan, academic advisor who worked with Wuhan-educated gunman on his physics PhD course – as suspect is charged with first-degree murder
PICTURED: The victim of the University of North Carolina shooting is identified as Zijie Yan, an academic advisor who worked with the Wuhan-educated shooter on his Ph.D. course in physics – as a suspect faces charges of first-degree murder
- UNC student Tailei Qi has been charged with first-degree murder after Monday’s campus shooting
- His academic advisor Zijie Yan was shot dead in the shooting
- Qi and Yan have co-authored several academic papers in recent years
The victim of Monday’s shooting at the University of North Carolina was the alleged shooter’s academic advisor, graduate student Tailei Qi, it has been revealed.
Qi, a physics doctoral student at UNC, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and jailed in the Orange County Jail.
Faculty member Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the Department of Applied Natural Sciences, was the only fatality in the shooting.
Qi reportedly worked closely with Yan’s research group at UNC, which focused on nanoscience technology, as reported by WRAL News.
The shooting shut down the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
UNC student Tailei Qi has been charged with first-degree shooting in Monday’s Chapel Hill campus shooting
A member of the UNC faculty, Zijie Yan, was shot and killed. He was the suspect’s academic advisor, it has been revealed
Qi (not pictured) reportedly worked closely with Yan’s research group at UNC, which focused on nanoscience technology, as reported by WRAL News.
It took about an hour and a half for the lockdown to be lifted after the arrest as authorities made sure they had the correct suspect in custody.
The building where gunfire erupted is steps away from the school’s iconic clock tower and steps away from the store that sells books and other student merchandise.
At a press conference Monday evening, investigators said they had not yet discovered a motive behind the shooting.
But a series of disturbing social media posts have surfaced, in which Qi complained about his UNC colleagues and criticized school bullies.
The graduate student previously attended Wuhan University in 2015 and studied at the Department of Applied Natural Sciences.
He will also receive a master’s degree in materials science from Louisiana State University in 2021.
Last month, Qi shared an article he wrote about optical binding on LinkedIn, which was published to his name and two others — including his advisor and alleged victim.
The two academics have written several articles in recent years on the effect of light on nanoparticles. Yan’s recent work has focused on so-called ‘optical tweezers’ – a process that uses light to develop advanced nanorobots in cells.
UNC Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz said in a statement, “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 to rebuild that sense of trust and security within our community and our hearts are with our fellow faculty member’s family, those personally connected to the victim and those traumatized by this senseless act of violence.’
Tailei Qi can be seen in an image provided to WRAL, sitting on the floor near a property about a mile away from campus, wearing a dark-colored shirt and glasses.