Delta State University Shooting: Shannon Lamb Found, Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
ByThe man suspected of shooting and killing two people in the Mississippi towns of Gautier and Cleveland was tracked down Monday night, but he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, police located Shannon Lamb Monday night driving his car. After trying to get the suspect to pull over and submit to arrest, Lamb got out of the car and began to flee on foot, and officers said they heard a gun go off not long after.
A professor at Delta State University (DSU), Lamb is the primary suspect the killing of a woman he was apparently living with in Gautier. Hours later, he is believed to have driven to Cleveland, entered the Jobe Hall office of Ethan Schmidt, a fellow professor at the school, and shot and killed him, according to The Associated Press.
The school announced in a news release late Monday that Lamb was apprehended and therefore the lockdown on campus was lifted. DSU's classes will remain closed for Tuesday, but the school will open certain offices, such as counseling, and is planning a vigil for Schmidt as well.
Delta State University President William LaForge said at a late night press conference Monday that he did not know Lamb very well, as the professor was only teaching two geography courses and both were online. Lamb also had an unspecified medical condition and requested a lessened workload, The Ledger reported.
On the contrary, LaForge said he knew Schmidt well and stated they both arrived at DSU around the same time two years ago. At the press conference, LaForge confirmed Schmidt and Lamb knew each other.
The nature of their relationship, if it was anything beyond professional, is not clear, nor is Lamb's motive for the double homicide.
"He did a tremendous job as a history professor," LaForge said of Schmidt. "I thought the world of him. He was a star on our faculty at Delta State."
Check out Ledger reporter Anna Wolfe's Twitter account for more statements from the late night presser: