One year after the shooting, UNC continues security measures as trial unfolds

Wednesday marks a sobering anniversary for the UNC community, as one year has passed since a faculty member was shot and killed in a research lab. The university will hold a memorial service at the Bell Tower at 1:15 p.m. and play “Hark the Sound” to honor Zijie Yan's legacy and memory.

The incident and its immediate aftermath have shaken campus – and led to several reviews of the university’s response and preparedness for such emergencies.

Zijie Yan. (Photo via UNC School of Applied Physical Sciences.)

The tragedy

UNC Police received a 911 call at 1:02 p.m. on August 28, 2023, reporting shots fired at the Caudill Laboratory on South Road. Minutes later, police officers arrived and an Alert Carolina message was sent to the campus community reporting an armed and dangerous individual on campus. Many people remained safe and waited nearly three hours for an all-clear. Not long after, the Carolina community learned more details of the tragedy.

UNC Police Chief Brian James and Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz later identified Zijie Yan, a professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, as the only fatality in the shooting – allegedly killed by Tailei Qi, a graduate student in Yan's lab who authorities arrested off-campus two miles north of the building. Yan had worked at the university since 2019.

Qi was charged by UNC police with premeditated murder and possession of a weapon on educational property. As investigators searched for answers, people around UNC mourned Yan and held gatherings to process the day's events. These included a vigil at the Bell Tower, protests on campus for gun reform and a candlelight ceremony with Yan's family at the Dean Smith Center.

Theo Dingemans, the head of the department, spoke about Yan along with Guskiewicz and a string quartet that played various tributes to the professor.

“Zijie was one of the nicest [people] “I've never met anyone like him,” Dingemans said. “He was soft-spoken, a good listener and actually had a wonderful sense of humor. On Monday, August 28, that all came to an end. Zijie's family and his students must carry on without him. The APS department has lost a wonderful colleague.”

Theo Dingemans, head of the Department of Applied Physical Sciences where Zijie Yan worked, speaks about his colleague at the university's vigil on Wednesday.

The answer

In the days that followed, UNC's emergency management team began debriefing the shooting and began gathering community input on what could be improved. One of the key responses was updating the wording of the Alert Carolina messages it sent out — which the university did just before the anniversary of the shooting. Now, the messages include detailed instructions on how to find a safe place from the threat and what to do if confronted. The changes also include a new policy that will send the alerts routinely until an all-clear message is issued, and suspend all university operations until the security threat passes.

In addition, the university has upgraded its buildings to ensure all rooms have interior locks and more signs on what to do in an emergency. To help police the campus, UNC Police began a partnership with license plate reader system Flock Safety.

On Wednesday, the first anniversary of the shooting, Chancellor Lee Roberts sent a letter to the campus community offering the university's psychological resources and a message of encouragement.

“Although I was not in Carolina when this event occurred,” he wrote, “I have spoken to many about the direct impact this experience has had on students, faculty, staff, parents and our local community. I have been grateful to hear how our community has come together during such a difficult and frightening time.”

“Campus safety is always a top priority,” Roberts added, “and we have learned a lot about improving our safety procedures over the past year. I appreciate the quick and targeted action by Emergency Management and Planning and UNC Police to improve our practices, and we will continue to look for ways to make our safety measures even more effective.”

Tailei Qi, the graduate student suspected of shooting a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty member, center, makes his first appearance at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (Photo via AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum.)

The murder trial

The murder case against Qi has been effectively dismissed since an Orange County judge declared the former student incompetent to stand trial, accusing him of behavior patterns reminiscent of schizophrenia. He is being treated at a hospital in Butner, and District Attorney Jeff Nieman's office plans to reopen the case once Qi is declared incompetent to stand trial.

“A specific trial date has not yet been set,” he told 97.9 The Hill. “The court has ordered Mr. Qi to undergo an examination, and the results of that examination are pending.”

Nieman said a conference call has been scheduled for December at which the defense, prosecution and judges will discuss any updates on the current situation.

“I want Mr. Yan's family and the community to know that even though it looks like nothing is happening,” he said, “there are things that, by their nature, cannot be commented on publicly. Sometimes I compare it to the duck on the pond – it looks like the duck is not doing anything (nothing is swimming), but there is splashing going on beneath the surface. And that is exactly what is happening here.”

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