Prof killed at Mississippi university

A history professor was shot and killed at Delta State University, and the campus locked down while police search for the shooter.

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Jackson, Mississippi - A history professor was shot and killed on Monday at Delta State University in Mississippi, a county coroner said, and the campus remained locked down as authorities searched for the shooter.

The university said no students were involved in the morning shooting, which left the Cleveland, Mississippi, campus on edge for several hours as police searched buildings following reports of active gunfire.

“Stay away from windows,” the university said on its Twitter account, where it confirmed the fatality and announced all classes would be canceled on Monday.

The shooter, who was not identified, remains at large, the Bolivar County Sheriff's Department said.

The Bolivar County coroner identified the victim as Ethan Schmidt, an assistant professor of American history at the school, which is near the Arkansas-Mississippi state line.

Schmidt earned a doctorate in early American history and Native American history from the University of Kansas and taught for six years at Texas Tech University before joining the faculty at Delta State, according to his school biography.

Reports of shots fired prompted the lockdown, with students receiving a text alert at 10:40 a.m., the sheriff's office said.

More than 4,000 students are enrolled in the public university, 120 miles (195 km) northwest of Jackson, Mississippi.

Police from several local and state agencies were on campus assisting in the investigation, and local media reported that nearby public schools were also locked down as a safety precaution.

Reuters