U. of North Carolina grad student charged with slaying of his faculty advisor

University of North Carolina professor Zijie Yan, right, was allegedly slain by student Tailei Qi.

The suspect in the killing of a University of North Carolina professor was charged with murder for allegedly slaying Associate Professor Zijie Yan Monday

The University of North Carolina community is still mourning the loss of Yan, an associate professor who was fatally shot Aug. 28 by Tailei Qi, 34, a graduate student from China.

Qi, the graduate student accused of the shooting, has been charged by the UNC Police Department with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon on educational property, both felony charges. He is being held at the Orange County Jail without bail.

Yan, 37, joined UNC-Chapel Hill faculty in 2022, after spending several years as a professor at Clarkson University. He ran a lab in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences with two undergraduate students, one research assistant and three PhD students, which included Qi.

Police received reports of a shooting at 1 p.m. Monday at Caudill Labs on campus. The suspected shooter walked away and was found and arrested about an hour and half later after the shooting.

Yan and Qi knew each other, UNC Police Chief Brian James said at a Tuesday news conference. The two worked in the same department and Yan was his faculty advisor.

The two knew each other, UNC Police Chief Brian James said Tuesday.

Qi was a grad student in the same department and Yan was his faculty adviser, according to Qi’s UNC biographical page. Qi entered the school in 2022 and listed his previous education as Louisiana State University and Wuhan University, the page said.

Yan came from Jingmen in Central China and received his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, according to a Watertown Daily Times article. He lived in nearby Apex and had two young children.

There have been 49 school shootings in the United States — 34 reported on K-12 campuses and 15 on university and college campuses, according to a CNN tally, 

In a message to the UNC campus the day after Yan was slain, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said he had met with Yan’s colleagues and family to express condolences on behalf of the university. UNC at 1:02 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, will ring its Bell Tower in honor of Dr. Yan, he announced. 

“I encourage every member of our campus community to take a moment of silence during this time,” the chancellor said. “This is an important way that we can come together as a community to recognize the loss we feel and to support one another.”

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