NCAA basketball rivalry game postponed after deadly campus shooting

By Joe Setyon March 2, 2018 at 12:00pm

A basketball game between two Michigan rivals has been postponed following a shooting on the campus of Central Michigan University.

Central Michigan was set to host Western Michigan on Friday night in what would have been the regular season finale for both squads. However, Central Michigan was on lockdown Friday morning after two people were killed in a shooting that took place on the school’s Mount Pleasant campus.

Neither of the victims are believed to have attended or taught at the school, though the suspect in their deaths, 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr., was enrolled at the university, NBC News reported.

The victims are thought to have been Davis’ parents, sources told the Detroit Free Press.

Police had yet to apprehend Davis as of early Friday afternoon.

“We believe this situation was a domestic type incident,” said Lt. Larry Klaus of the CMU campus police. “He was last seen running in a northbound direction.”

It’s unclear what sparked the fatal shooting, but police did have contact with the alleged shooter overnight regarding an incident related to drugs.

Then, gunfire erupted from the fourth floor of a CMU dorm at about 8:30 a.m. local time.

In a tweet, CMU’s student government told students they should “stay inside and lock your doors.”

Meanwhile, the CMU men’s basketball team put out a statement from athletic director Michael Alford saying Friday night’s game would be postponed. More details were not immediately available.

https://twitter.com/CMUMensBBall/status/969624993301762048

WMU’s team was in a nearby hotel while the shooting took place. They remained there during the lockdown, athletic director Kathy Beauregard said.

“WMU@CMU Basketball game postponed for tonight. The Broncos are all safely locked into their hotel until further notice. Once CMU makes any announcements we will pass it on,” Beauregard wrote on Twitter. “The Broncos will assist in any possible way to support CMU and their community.”

WMU@CMU Basketball game postponed for tonight . The Broncos are all safely locked into their hotel until further notice. Once CMU makes any announcements we will pass it on . The Broncos will assist in any possible way to support CMU and their community .

— Kathy Beauregard (@BeauregardKathy) March 2, 2018

The entire CMU team was also safe, according to the school’s student newspaper, Central Michigan Life.

CMU and WMU previously faced off on Feb. 20, with Western Michigan prevailing 83-81.

More than 20,000 students attend CMU, which is one of the biggest universities in the United States.

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Death, Michigan, Murder

Joe Setyon

Deputy Managing Editor, Editorial

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Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.

@JoeSetyon

Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.

Birthplace

Brooklyn, New York

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Politics