Plainfield teen accused of shooting parents dead at Michigan university; father was cop, Iraqi war veteran
March 3, 2018 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
A manhunt continued late Friday for a college student from the Chicago suburbs who authorities said fatally shot his parents on the campus of Central Michigan University.
Authorities said Friday evening they had more than 100 officers from multiple agencies searching for 19-year-old James Eric Davis, of Plainfield. They warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
The victims were identified by authorities as Davis’ parents, James Eric Davis Sr. and Diva Jeneen Davis. Davis Sr. was a police officer in west suburban Bellwood and an Illinois National Guard veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Diva Davis’s Facebook page identified her as a real estate broker; friends said she was also a breast cancer survivor and had worked as a flight attendant.
People who knew the family called Davis Jr. “respectful” and “a good kid” and his parents “upstanding,” and said they saw no obvious signs of trouble with the teenager, who was a sophomore at the school in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
“He was a good kid, always,” said Deantre DeYoung, 20, who met Davis Jr. when they were high school freshmen at Plainfield South High School and had kept in touch. “You would never expect something like this to come from James.”
The Davises were reportedly picking up their son from college for spring break when the shooting happened inside a residence hall on campus.
But Lt. Larry Klaus of the campus police department said Davis Jr. was taken to a hospital Thursday night by campus police because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose. Authorities did not elaborate.
Bellwood Police Chief Jiminez Allen confirmed Friday that Davis Sr. was a part-time officer in the village and called it “a very difficult time” for the department.
An Illinois legislator whose district includes Bellwood, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said in a Tweet on Friday afternoon: “My sincerest condolences go out to the family of Bellwood Police Officer James Davis Sr. and his wife who were shot and killed this morning. May they RIP.”
The younger Davis attended Plainfield South High for three years, then completed high school at Plainfield Central, where he played basketball and graduated in 2016, Plainfield Community School District 202 officials confirmed.
They declined any further comment “out of respect to the family.”
Campus police identified and released a photo of Davis Jr. during an afternoon news conference. Klaus said surveillance video suggests he fled on foot after the 8:30 a.m. shooting at Campbell Hall. Police warned the public not to confront him. Earlier Friday, they said they suspected he was still in the central Michigan area.
Jordan Murphy, a longtime friend of Davis Sr., said they worked together as Illinois Army National Guard recruiters after being deployed together as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Murphy said Davis Sr., who went by Eric, brought his son to Murphy’s home on several occasions.
“Junior was a very respectful man, raised by upstanding parents, who would do anything to protect him and his siblings,” Murphy said. “This is an incredibly tragic event, and I pray for Eric’s other children. This is so incredibly out of character, something went wrong somewhere.”
Murphy called Eric and Diva Davis “loving, ever-present parents who doted on their children.”
Besides Davis Jr., the couple had a daughter and another son.
Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, public affairs director of the Illinois National Guard, said Davis Sr. served with the guard for 24 years before retiring in 2014.
His time in the guard included a 2003 deployment to Iraq, when he was with the 1244th Transportation Co. out of North Riverside. Later, he worked as a recruiter out of the Joliet Armory, Leighton said.
Julian Leal, who lives on the same block as the Davis home in Plainfield, called Davis Sr. a good neighbor, the type who would shovel out his neighbors after a snowstorm.
“We had picnics in our backyard,” Leal said. “I just had a beer with him last week. We talked about our kids who are in college. He was proud of his son.”
Leal added there was no hint of any problems or violence.
“We’re all confused and at a loss,” he said. “We’re telling our kids to be strong and pray for them. They wouldn’t want us to fall apart.”
Klaus, the campus police lieutenant in Michigan, said anyone who sees Davis Jr. shouldn’t confront him, but needs to call 911. Officials at the school, which has about 23,000 students, urged everyone on campus to take shelter.
“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” said Klaus, adding that Davis Jr. was wearing a black hoodie but had been shedding certain clothes while on the run.
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before spring break at the Mount Pleasant campus, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing and is about a 270-mile drive from Chicago. 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.
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.
Chicago Tribune’s Robert McCoppin and Rosemary Sobol contributed. Associated Press contributed.
