TUCSON — One person is dead after a shooting at the University of Arizona, according to campus police.
The victim, identified by the university as Dr. Thomas Meixner, was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital. Meixner died at the hospital.
Police say the shooting occurred in the John W. Harshbarger Building, northwest of the Student Union.
Police responded to Harshbarger bldg for a shooting. Stay away from surrounding area. More to follow
— University of Arizona Police (@UArizonaPolice) October 5, 2022
The alleged shooter, identified as 46-year-old Murad Dervish, left the area before police arrived but has since been taken into custody.
Campus police officials say the Department of Public Safety took Dervish into custody near Gila Bend.
The alleged shooter was a former student at UArizona who was not allowed to be in the building, according to campus police. A staff member recognized the former student and called police.
All in-person classes and campus activities have been canceled Wednesday due to the incident.
ABC15 spoke to students who say they received text alerts shortly after the shooting on campus. At the time, freshman Alyssa Johnson says she was waiting for her best friend, Dana Castillo who was still in class.
"I was texting her and I realized kind of what was going on and I did hear like a thud. So, that's when I kind of raised my hand and asked if she could come inside and stay with us," says Dana Castillo, a freshman at the University of Arizona.
They were both in the building next to Harshbarger, scared as they knew a suspected shooter was on the run.
Dana then looked to her professor for answers.
"We were asking him if there was a possible lock on the door, but we realized there was only a code outside so, we really couldn't lock the doors. So, I was getting more and more anxious," says Castillo.
A family representative released the following statement about Dr. Meixner:
"There are no words. We can try to put it into writing, but there will never be words to describe this crushing loss. Thomas Meixner was an incredible son, brother, husband, father, uncle, colleague and friend. He loved his family, friends, coworkers, the University of Arizona and the greater Tucson community. He always focused on helping others in all he did. The loss of Tom has left a giant emptiness in our hearts.
He was a great man, a deeply faith-filled and devoted husband and father. He was passionate about Hydrology, and one of the last acts he performed on this earth was to teach a class. He described his work as “making the world better through biogeochemistry,” but to us, he was trying to save the world’s most precious resource.
He recently retweeted the following quote, “Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.” Tom certainly lived this. He will be forever loved and missed by so many who knew him."
