South Carolina professor killed during murder-suicide
A professor at the University of South Carolina in the US died of multiple gunshot wounds in an apparent murder-suicide in a campus building, a coroner said on Friday.
Dr. Raja Fayad, 45, was shot in his upper body on Thursday at the university’s Arnold School of Public Health in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, the state capital.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said Fayad was the victim in the incident. "All indications are the incident was a murder-suicide with the individuals involved having a history together," Watts said in a statement.
The alleged shooter, who also died, will be identified after that person's family is notified, Watts added.
Fayad was an associate professor of applied physiology who served as graduate director at the university. He was born in Lebanon and graduated from the Aleppo University School of Medicine in Syria in 1995.
He was found on Thursday afternoon in a fourth-floor office at the university's research building, police said.
The shooting took place a couple of blocks from the State House, which houses the state’s government, including the General Assembly and the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor.
The shooting put the campus of about 30,000 students on lockdown for around an hour. Classes were canceled on Friday at the public health school, and student planned to hold a memorial service.
“The sun is out this morning," university President Harris Pastides said on Twitter. "Let's honor Professor Fayad with respect. Show someone that we care."
A non-profit website called Gun Violence Archive has recorded over 4,000 gun incidents in the country in 2015 (as of February 6). According to the website, 1,207 people have lost their lives to gun violence during the first 36 days of this year.
AHT/GJH
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