Suspect in Professor’s Shooting at North Carolina University Bought Gun, Went to Range, Warrants Say

Law enforcement and first responders gather on South Street near the Bell Tower on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Aug. 28, 2023. Kaitlin McKeown/The News & Observer via AP

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—A University of North Carolina graduate student charged with fatally shooting his faculty adviser on campus five months ago had visited a gun range the day before the professor was killed and had bought a pistol, according to information from federal search warrants.

Tailei Qi, 35, was arrested in a residential area less than two hours after the Aug. 28 shooting of Zijie Yan inside a laboratory building at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.