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Father killed at CMU had served in Iraq

Posted at 11:11 PM, Mar 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-04 09:37:10-05

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at Central Michigan University (all times local):

9:35 p.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.

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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.

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12:40 p.m.

Central Michigan University’s police chief says a 19-year-old student suspected of fatally shooting his parents in a dormitory was acting strangely the day before the shooting and told a residence hall officer someone was trying to kill him.

CMU police Chief Bill Yeagley says James Eric Davis Jr. appeared terrified Thursday morning when he told the residence hall officer that someone with a gun “was out to hurt him.”

Yeagley says when officers determined that person posed no threat, Davis said he was fine and was leaving campus Friday for spring break.

But Yeagley says officers called Davis’ parents and then took Davis to a hospital for an evaluation Thursday afternoon after he was seen in a dormitory hallway with his suitcases, again acting strangely.

Davis allegedly shot his parents after they picked him up from that hospital Friday morning.

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11 a.m.

Police say the gun used in a shooting at a Central Michigan University dormitory that left a student’s parents dead was registered to the suspect’s dad.

Police say the 19-year-old student suspected of killing his parents was arrested early Saturday morning. James Eric Davis Jr. was arrested after someone saw him on train tracks shortly after midnight.

The university identified the two dead as Davis’ mother, Diva Davis, and father, James Davis Sr., a part-time police officer in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood.

Central Michigan University police Chief Bill Yeagley told reporters that the gun used in the shooting belonged Davis Sr.

The shooting occurred at a residence hall at Central Michigan, which is about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) north of Lansing.

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2:08 a.m.

A 19-year-old student suspected of killing his parents at a Central Michigan University dormitory and then running from campus has been apprehended.

Central Michigan’s Emergency Communication says on its website that James Eric Davis Jr. was arrested without incident early Saturday. They say Davis was seen on train tracks shortly after midnight.

Police say Friday morning’s shooting at Campbell Hall happened when parents were arriving to pick up students for the beginning of a week-long spring break. More than 100 police officers, some heavily armed in camouflage uniforms, had searched neighborhoods near Central Michigan University following the shooting.

The university identified the two dead as Davis mother Diva Davis and father James Davis Sr., a part-time police officer in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood. The shooting occurred at a residence hall at Central Michigan, which is about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) north of Lansing.

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1:17 a.m.

A manhunt continues for a 19-year-old student suspected of killing his parents at a Central Michigan University dormitory.

Police on Saturday continued searching for James Eric Davis Jr., who allegedly ran from campus following the shooting at Campbell Hall.

Friday’s shooting prompted a search of nearby neighborhoods that included more than 100 police officers and happened on a day when parents were arriving to pick up students for the beginning of a week-long spring break.

Police urged the public to call 911 if they saw Davis but said he shouldn’t be confronted.

The university identified the two dead as Davis’ mother Diva Davis and father James Davis Sr., a part-time police officer in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood.

Central Michigan is located about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) north of Lansing.