CLEVELAND, MISS. – The 90th birthday celebration of Delta State University was put on hold Tuesday to allow the Mississippi school to deal with the shooting death of a history professor.
Ethan Schmidt was gunned down in his office on campus Monday morning by a fellow instructor.
The shooter, Shannon Lamb, died several hours later from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.
For the second day in a row, classes on campus were canceled, and the university offered private and group counseling to students who needed it.
“A lot of people have gone home and you want to get away from here. We are just shocked something like this could happen,” said sophomore Sarah Wysozki.
The crisis on campus ended Monday night after Lamb was located in Greenville, Mississippi late that night.
Police said before they could pull over Lamb he jumped out of his vehicle and took his own life.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to. We would much rather have him in custody to so we could ask him some questions,” said Cleveland Police Chief Charles Bingham.
Police said Lamb was also responsible for the murder of his girlfriend, Amy Prentiss, but said there was no indication this involved some sort of love triangle.
“We are leaning more toward one employee being disgruntled with another,” said Bingham.
A candlelight vigil will be held at the University at 7p.m. Tuesday night to remember the slain professor.
Classes are scheduled to resume Wednesday.
