Charges have been filed in the fatal shooting of a UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member on Monday (Aug. 28), according to WRAL.
Doctoral student Tailei Qi, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon on educational property. He is currently being held at Orange County Detention Center with a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/WRALAaron/status/1696516453732643084?s=20
The victim has been identified as Professor Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the department of applied physical sciences, where he focused on nanoscience technology. He joined UNC faculty in 2019 following previous stints at Clarkson and The University of Chicago.
Professor Yan was Qi’s academic advisor, having worked closely together in a research group since early last year. In recent times, the two co-authored research papers on the effect of light on nanoparticles.
“This loss is devastating and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community,” said UNC Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz during a press conference Monday evening before the victim was identified. “We will work to rebuild that sense of trust and safety within our community and our hearts are with the family of our fellow faculty member, those who are personally connected to the victim and those traumatized by this senseless act of violence.”
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