CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WGHP) — The suspect in the deadly shooting of an academic advisor at UNC-Chapel Hill has been found unfit for trial.
Tailei Qi, 34, appeared in Orange County court on Monday morning. During this appearance, the Associated Press reported that a judge deemed Qi unfit for trial after the findings of a follow-up psychiatric evaluation, echoing the findings of the initial evaluation.
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Shooting at UNC Chapel Hill
The two psychiatric evaluations concluded that Qi is “severely mentally ill,” most likely suffering from schizophrenia, with the judge stating that he has demonstrated delusional thinking and auditory hallucinations and that he is unable to fully comprehend his situation.
He was referred to Central Regional Hospital’s mental health facility in Butner.
Qi is accused of shooting and killing associate professor Zijie Yan, his advisor, on Aug. 28, throwing the school into lockdown for hours while police searched for the suspect. Yan was shot seven times, according to his autopsy report.
Yan was an associate professor of applied physical sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. He began working for the university in 2019.
Yan led a research group of graduate and undergraduate students, including Qi. Yan launched the group in 2015 while working at Clarkson University before moving it to UNC in 2019. According to a description on Yan’s site, the group aimed to “transcend the boundary between photonics and materials science by developing new techniques to study light-matter interactions at the nanometer scale.” The group also conducted research into “nanostructured materials” with possible applications in the fields of energy and health.
How the news broke
The situation played out over three hours on Aug. 28. Just after 1 p.m., the first alert went out, informing people of an armed person “on or near” campus.
UNC Police circulated a picture that appeared to match Qi, identifying him only as a person of interest in connection with the “armed and dangerous person situation.” The photo seemed to have been taken from the UNC directory, which listed Qi as a Ph.D. student at the school.
The all-clear went out just after 4 p.m. The suspect was taken into custody around 2:30 p.m., according to campus police.
Reaction
Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, later in the day, confirmed that a faculty member was killed in the shooting.
“l am devastated and saddened by today’s shooting in one of our campus buildings, a place where we conduct our important work of teaching, mentoring and research every day. This shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted on our campus. We will work to rebuild that trust and safety. 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.”
UNC Police released a statement about the shooting on Tuesday, mourning the loss of the professor.
“The Carolina community is mourning the loss of Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences who was killed in yesterday’s on-campus shooting. Yan worked for the University since 2019. The University is in contact with Yan’s family and is providing resources and support.”
