2 fatally shot at Central Michigan University, suspect on the loose

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Two people who weren't students were fatally shot at a Central Michigan University residence hall on Friday, prompting officials to put the campus on lockdown as police searched for a 19-year-old suspect described as armed and dangerous, officials said.

Campus police believe the shooting "started from a domestic situation," the university said in a statement. No other injuries were immediately reported. The university, which has about 23,000 students, urged students to take shelter.

The school posted an alert around 9:30 a.m. on social media about shots being fired at Campbell Hall, a dorm on the campus in Mount Pleasant, which is about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) north of Lansing. An automated phone message from the school also was sent to students.

The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before spring break. Parents who were trying to pick up students were told to stay off campus and go to a local hotel where staff would assist them.

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.