LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) _ The Latest on a shooting at the Texas Tech University Police Department headquarters (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – Texas Tech University’s campus police chief says an officer went to check on the wellbeing of a 19-year-old student because the department received reports that he had been acting erratically and might have “a weapon.”
Police Chief Kyle Bonath said Tuesday at a news conference that the student, Hollis Daniels III, later “pulled a gun” and shot the officer, Floyd East Jr., on Monday while being booked on a drug possession charge at the campus police station. Authorities have said Daniels wasn’t handcuffed at the time.
Bonath didn’t take questions at the news conference, and it’s not clear if he meant that Daniels drew a gun he had on him. He also didn’t say whether Daniels had been checked for weapons when first arrested on the drug charge.
The chief also said Daniels’ family called a campus counseling center to say he may be suicidal and may have a gun, but Bonath didn’t specify whether that call happened before or after the shooting.
Daniels is charged with murder.
11:41 a.m.
Authorities say a Texas Tech University student confessed to killing a campus police officer who was booking him on a drug possession
charge.
Det. Thomas Bonds of the Lubbock city police department says in an affidavit released Tuesday that 19-year-old Hollis Daniels III told officers after he was recaptured that he had done “something illogical” and “he was the one that shot their friend.”
Daniels is charged with capital murder in Monday’s killing of campus police officer Floyd East Jr.
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6:30 a.m.
A 19-year-old student at a West Texas university has been charged with capital murder of a peace officer in the shooting of a campus officer at the school’s police headquarters.
Texas Tech University officials identified the gunman as Hollis Daniels, who was booked into the Lubbock County jail early Tuesday. Online jail records don’t indicate if he has an attorney to comment on his behalf.
The gunman fled police headquarters after mortally wounding the unidentified officer Monday night. He was later spotted by university police. A foot chase ensued and he was tackled then taken into custody.
In a statement, the university says campus police took Daniels to the police station after finding evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia in a room.
It is not clear if Daniels had the gun on him at that point, or if he took the weapon from an officer.
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9:25 p.m.
Texas Tech University officials have identified the suspect sought in the fatal shooting of a campus officer at the campus police headquarters.
A university statement identified the suspect as 19-year-old Hollis Daniels.
University spokesman Chris Cook says campus police made a student welfare check Monday evening and found upon entering the room evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Cook says officers brought the suspect to the campus police station for standard debriefing.
During this time, Cook says the suspect pulled out a gun and shot an officer in the head, killing him. The suspect then fled on foot and is on the run. Tactical squad officers are assisting with the search.
9 p.m.
A Texas Tech University police officer has been shot and killed at the campus police headquarters, prompting a lockdown of the Lubbock campus.
University spokesman Chris Cook says campus police made a student welfare check Monday evening and found upon entering the room evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Cook says officers brought the suspect to the campus police station for standard debriefing.
During this time, Cook says the suspect pulled out a gun and shot an officer in the head, killing him. The suspect then fled on foot and has not been captured.
No other information has been released.
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8:50 p.m.
Texas Tech University in Lubbock has ordered a lockdown after a shooting was reported at the campus police station.
University officials issued an alert to students on social media Monday night, noting that the suspected shooter had not been apprehended.
The alert urged those on campus to “takeshelter in a safe location.”
No other information has been released.
