Campus Alert Archive
CMU

Student Fatally Shoots Both Parents in Dorm Room, Triggering 16-Hour Campus Manhunt

MIshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the morning of March 2, 2018, 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr. fatally shot both of his parents on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall at Central Michigan University. His parents had come to pick him up for spring break after he had been hospitalized the previous day for erratic behavior. The suspect fled and was not captured until nearly 16 hours later near train tracks on the edge of campus.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
2
Injured
0
Institution
Central Michigan University
Public R2 · MI
~20,000 studentsCMU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimCBS Detroit article quoting the exact @CMU_989 tweet posted at approximately 9:30 AM EST on March 2, 201873 chars
Stay clear of Campbell hall! There were shots fired. Stay safe Chippewas!
Posted by Central Michigan University's official Twitter account (@CMU_989) at approximately 9:30 AM EST on March 2, 2018 — quoted verbatim by CBS Detroit and CBS News live blog coverage
The shooting occurred on the 4th floor of Campbell Hall, a student residence hall, at approximately 8:30 AM EST
The Twitter alert went out about one hour after the shooting, making it roughly simultaneous with the formal CMU Alert system messages
The university, along with Mount Pleasant schools, city buildings, and McLaren Central Michigan Hospital, were all placed on lockdown
UPDATEsocial-media
Verified verbatimCentral Michigan University official Facebook post (March 2, 2018), quoted verbatim by CBS News live blog173 chars
There has been a report of shots fired at Campbell Hall on campus. Suspect is still at large, police advise all to take shelter. If you see something suspicious, call 911.
Posted to Central Michigan University's official Facebook page (@cmich) on the morning of March 2, 2018 — the formal shelter-in-place message following the briefer @CMU_989 tweet, quoted verbatim by the CBS News live blog
The shooter, James Eric Davis Jr., remained 'at large' for nearly 16 hours after this message until his arrest near train tracks early March 3, 2018
The message instructs 'take shelter' rather than naming a specific suspect description — the detailed suspect description came in later police releases
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction175 chars
CMU UPDATE: The suspect has been taken into custody without incident near the north end of campus. The shelter in place is lifted. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reports that the suspect was arrested near train tracks on the north end of campus early Saturday
The manhunt lasted nearly 16 hours before the suspect was spotted and apprehended
Context

Background

On the morning of March 2, 2018, 19-year-old student James Eric Davis Jr. fatally shot both of his parents on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall, a residence hall at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. His father, James Eric Davis Sr., 48, was a part-time police officer with the Bellwood Police Department in Illinois, and his mother, Diva Jeneen Davis, 47, had come to pick up their son for spring break. The previous day, Davis Jr. had been hospitalized for erratic behavior and was released back to his parents. After the shooting, the suspect used his father's registered gun and fled on foot, triggering a campus-wide lockdown that extended to local schools, city buildings, and the nearby hospital. The manhunt lasted nearly 16 hours before Davis was spotted near train tracks on the north edge of campus early Saturday morning and arrested without incident. The case drew attention to the university's emergency communications response, which won a CASE Circle of Excellence Award for its handling of the crisis.
Analysis

Key Findings

The suspect had been hospitalized for erratic behavior the day before and was released to his parents, raising questions about mental health crisis intervention
The 16-hour manhunt required sustained shelter-in-place messaging and coordination across the campus and surrounding community
CMU's communications team later won a CASE Circle of Excellence Award for its crisis response
Outcome
James Eric Davis Sr., 48, a part-time police officer in Bellwood, Illinois, and Diva Jeneen Davis, 47, were both killed. The suspect was arrested without incident early Saturday morning. He was later found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Central Michigan student used father's gun to kill his parents (CNN)
    cnn.com
  2. News
    Suspect In Custody After Deadly Shooting At Central Michigan University (NPR)
    npr.org
  3. News
    Student in custody after allegedly shooting parents at CMU dorm (ABC News)
    abcnews.go.com
  4. News
    Student sought in killing of parents at CMU in custody (NBC News)
    nbcnews.com
  5. Official
    Shots Fired: Response to CMU's March 2018 Campus Shooting (CASE Awards)
    case.org
  6. Student Paper
    CMU Shooting: James Eric Davis Jr. Case (CM-Life Student Newspaper)
    cm-life.com
Tags
shootingdomestic-violencemanhuntmichiganpublic-r2mental-healthresidence-hall
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion