SUNDAY AT 3:15 p.m.
A close friend of an Illinois couple shot allegedly shot to death by their 19-year-old son in his college dorm room in Michigan says something "out-of-character" must have occurred.
Jordan Murphy tells The Associated Press Sunday that Eric Davis Sr. and his wife, Diva, were "doting parents" and that James Eric Davis' Jr. is a "good kid."
Davis Jr. faces murder and gun charges in the Friday morning deaths of his parents at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. They were helping Davis Jr. pack for spring break. Davis Jr. fled the dorm after the shooting and was arrested Saturday morning.
Murphy worked from 2004 to 2008 with Davis Sr. in Chicago as Illinois Army National Guard recruiters. Murphy also said his family lived within 2 miles of the Davis family in suburban Plainfield. Murphy now lives in St. Johns, Florida.
SUNDAY 1:15 p.m.
A Central Michigan University spokeswoman says operations will resume as normal at the school this week after a 19-year-old student allegedly killed his parents in his campus dormitory.
Heather Smith says Sunday that administrative offices will be open Monday. She says students are away on spring break and classes will resume March 12 at the Mount Pleasant school.
James Eric Davis Jr. was arrested after a manhunt and faces murder and gun charges in the Friday morning slayings of his father, Eric Davis Sr., and mother, Diva Davis. Davis Jr.'s parents had picked him up Friday from a hospital where he had been brought for suspected drug abuse. His parents had planned to take him home.
After the shootings, officials canceled events and activities Friday evening on the campus, 155 miles (249 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.
The Davis family is from Plainfield, Illinois.
SUNDAY 4:00 a.m.
Investigators are trying to figure out why a Central Michigan University student charged with fatally shooting his parents acted so strangely the day before the killings that he was taken to a hospital.
The shooting happened Friday after James Eric Davis Jr.'s parents picked him up from the hospital and brought him to his dorm to pack up for spring break. University police Chief Bill Yeagley says the 19-year-old can be seen on video in the dorm's parking lot with the gun before he entered the residence hall where his parents were shot around 8:30 a.m. The gun was registered to his father.
Davis Jr. has been charged with two counts of murder and a weapons charge in the shootings of his father, Eric Davis Sr., and mother, Diva Davis.
SUNDAY 12:00 A.M.: The man police say was killed by his son at Central Michigan University had been a longtime member of the Illinois Army National Guard and served in the Iraq War.
National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Brad Leighton says Eric Davis Sr. served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and was deployed to Iraq in 2003, the year the war started, as a truck driver.
He later was a National Guard recruiter and retired in 2014 in that position.
Leighton says Davis Sr. had a lot of friends and was well liked within the National Guard.
At the time of his death, Davis Sr. was a part-time police officer in Bellwood, Illinois. His son, Eric Davis Jr. has been charged with killing his parents.
FRIDAY 4:20 p.m.
A Central Michigan University student suspected of fatally shooting his parents in a dormitory has been charged with murder.
University spokeswoman Heather Smith says 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr. also faces a felony weapons charge.
Davis Jr. remains under guard at a hospital, where he was taken following his arrest early Saturday.
He's accused of fatally shooting his father, James Davis Sr., and his mother, Diva Davis, on Friday morning at a campus dormitory. Police say his parents had just picked him up from the hospital, where he was taken the day before for suspected drug abuse. They had gone to his dorm and were planning to take him home for spring break.
Police say the gun used in the shooting belonged to Davis Jr.'s father, a part-time police officer in suburban Chicago.
FRIDAY 4:00 P.M. UPDATE: Police were searching Friday for a young man suspected of killing two people at a Central Michigan University residence hall on the same day parents were arriving to pick up students beginning their spring break.
Police released a photo of James Eric Davis Jr., urging the public to call 911 if they see him but also warning that the 19-year-old shouldn't be confronted. The campus was locked down, and students and staff were told to find shelter.
"He should be considered armed and dangerous," campus police Lt. Larry Klaus said.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 a.m. at Campbell Hall, a residence hall at Central Michigan, which is about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) north of Lansing. Police described the shooting as a "family-type domestic situation" and said the victims were not students.
Police declined to confirm news reports that said Davis had fatally shot his parents when they came to pick him up for spring break.
Klaus said video at the dorm suggests Davis fled on foot after the shooting. He was wearing a hoodie but had been shedding certain clothes while on the run.
The search was focused on Mount Pleasant neighborhoods near campus. Officers in camouflage knocked on doors and checked possible hiding places, such as yards and porches. In the surrounding community, students and staff in the Mount Pleasant school district were told not to leave nine buildings.
Klaus said Davis was taken to a hospital Thursday night by campus police because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose. No other details were released.
Davis is from Plainfield, Illinois, and graduated from Central High School in 2016, said Tom Hernandez, a spokesman for Plainfield School District 202.
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before a weeklong break. Parents who were trying to pick up students were told instead to go to a local hotel where staff would assist them while the manhunt was ongoing.
A student, Tyler Whipple, was driving through campus when his route was blocked off by police cars at the scene of the killings. He had to catch a flight to Florida.
"These roads are kind of spooky right now," Whipple said.
The school posted an alert Friday morning on social media about shots being fired at Campbell Hall. An automated phone message also was sent to students.
Halie Byron, 20, said she locked herself in her off-campus house, about a 10-minute walk from Campbell Hall. She had planned to run errands before traveling home to the Detroit area.
"It's scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere — a classroom, a library. There's so much easy access," Byron said.
In the surrounding community, students and staff in the Mount Pleasant school district were told not to leave nine buildings. Visitors also weren't being allowed to enter.
12:30 p.m. UPDATE: Parents trying to pick up students following a fatal shooting at Central Michigan University are being asked to stay off campus. The school says parents are being told to go to a local hotel in Mount Pleasant where staff would assist them.
The university says the Friday morning shooting occurred at a campus residence hall and killed two people who weren't students. The school says police are searching for a 19-year-old suspect who's considered armed and dangerous. Students are being told to take shelter.
One student says she locked herself in her off-campus house that's about a 10-minute walk from the residence hall. She says it's "scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere."
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before spring break.
Students and staff in the Mount Pleasant school district were told not to leave several buildings. Visitors also weren't being allowed to enter.
11:10 a.m. UPDATE: Police say two people who aren't students have been fatally shot at a residence hall at Central Michigan University.
The school says police believe the Friday morning shooting "started from a domestic situation." Investigators are searching for a 19-year-old suspect who is considered to be armed and dangerous.
The school is urging students to take shelter. It also says no other injuries have been reported.
The school posted an alert around 9:30 a.m. on its Facebook page about shots being fired at Campbell Hall. An automated phone message from the school also was sent to students. The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before spring break.
10:00 a.m. UPDATE: School officials say police are responding to a report of shots fired at a residence hall at Central Michigan University.
The university said Friday morning that the report concerns Campbell Hall on its campus in Mount Pleasant. The university says the suspect is still at large, and police are urging students to take shelter.
The city says the male suspect is considered armed and dangerous.
The school released the information on its Facebook page around 9:30 a.m. An automated phone message from the school also was sent to students Friday morning.
Central Michigan University has about 23,000 students in Mount Pleasant, which is about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) north of Lansing.
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