Updated March 7, 2:30 p.m..
After a shooting that ended in the death of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Student Body President Eve Carson Wednesday morning, the UNC-CH community came together Thursday to mourn.
UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser addressed the campus at 3 p.m. Thursday, followed by a memorial for Carson.
Following a police briefing on the incident, UNC-CH’s executive branch of student government hosted a candlelight vigil Thursday evening.
Chapel Hill police found Carson’s body Wednesday morning, and UNC administrators alerted students of a shooting of an unknown person through e-mails and emergency text message alerts.
Police then confirmed her identity Thursday around noon.
Carson, a native of Athens, Ga., was a Morehead scholar and a double major in political science and biology, according to a release Moeser posted on the university’s Web site.
Chancellor Moeser’s AddressAbout 5,000 people gathered at Polk Place at UNC-Chapel Hill to hear the chancellor speak about the tragedy.
Moeser gave an address commemorating Carson, and students, faculty and staff placed flowers at a temporary memorial for Carson behind the Campus Y.
“She was loved by so many on this campus,” Moeser said. “And now she’s been taken from us suddenly in a terrible, terrible act of violence.”
Moeser said Carson loved to talk about the “Carolina way,” which many remembered her for.
According to Moeser, counselors would be available for students throughout the day until 11 p.m. Thursday night, and students could also seek assistance from the dean’s office.
Duke University sent counselors, Moeser said, to help UNC-CH counselors provide assistance for all those who request it.
The resident advisers in Granville Towers would also be on call, Moeser said.
“The university wants to reach out and put its arms around you and embrace you,” he said.
After the chancellor’s address and a moment of silence, the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower played Carson’s favorite song, “Hark the Sound.”
“It’s times like this that test us as a community,” Moeser said. “Let us be the university that Eve Carson envisioned.”
Police BriefingThe Chapel Hill Police Department is still investigating the incident and does not have a suspect or motive, according to Police Chief Brian Curran.
“We received two consecutive calls of [hearing] gunshots in a residential neighborhood,” Curran said.
The initial call was from a resident in Davie Circle, Curran said.
And at about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, he said, police found Carson’s body at the corner of Hillcrest Drive and Hillcrest Circle.
“At least at this stage of the investigation, it appears that the crime happened where the body was found,” Curran said.
Police cannot yet release the number of shots fired or the gun used to commit the crime, he said.
Because Carson did not have any identification on her, including her keys and wallet, which are still missing, police did not know who she was at first. The medical examiner, according to Curran, identified her.
Police located Carson’s car, a blue 2005 Toyota Highlander, near North Street at 2 p.m. Thursday after receiving calls about it.
“The vehicle was not found at her home,” he said. “We believe it was driven there.”
According to Curran, Carson’s roommates reported her missing at 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, stating that they last saw her at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning before they went out. Carson stayed back at the apartment to study and police officers believe she may have left at 5 a.m. to go to her office.
“There is no indication that she actually reached campus,” Curran said.
Curran said the intersection where police found her is very low in crime.
“There are very few homicides in Chapel Hill and there aren’t any that we couldn’t identify that I know of,” he said.
Although, according to Curran, Carson did not seem to have enemies and that there wasn’t any foul play involved, the investigation is still in its early stages.
A shooting of an Auburn University student Tuesday, Lauren Burk, also a native of Georgia, whose car was later found in flames, prompted Chapel Hill Police to contact Auburn University Police.
Curran said the incidents do not seem to be linked at this time.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Curran said police had filed a court subpoena for Carson’s cell phone call records, and police are currently looking into her credit card use in the past two days.
“At this point, we have no evidence to believe it is a targeted crime,” Curran said.
Curran said although stalking cannot be ruled out, police have not found anything to prove Carson had enemies and still had no suspects as of Thursday afternoon.
According to Curran, officers are not doing anything differently to protect the campus community and everyone should just continue to take everyday precautions.
Anyone with any information on Carson’s death should call Chapel Hill Police Department at (919)968-2760 or Crime Stoppers at (919)942-7515.
VigilThousands of students, faculty and staff members gathered in the Pit Thursday evening for the 7 p.m. candlelight vigil for Carson.
As attendees lit their candles and listened to a capella, those who knew Carson directly and indirectly came together to celebrate her achievements.
Attendees also had the opportunity to write about Carson on index cards, which the university planned to compile and share with the campus.
“If you could take the most wonderful person in the entire world and multiply that by 100, that would be Eve,” Lib Curlee, a senior in journalism, said.
Curlee said she met Carson through a mutual friend.
Keith Gordon, a sophomore in political science and international studies, agreed though he did not know Carson as closely.
“She was loved by everyone here,” he said.
Curlee said Carson had the ability to give her all without expecting anything in return.
Brie Nash, a sophomore in communication who worked with Carson through different campus organizations, agreed.
“The loss is such a waste,” Nash said. “She was a very dedicated person, very committed. The loss is just so unnecessary.”
Gordon said he met Carson when she was campaigning for SBP.
“She did a lot of stuff for students,” he said. “She was always with us — you could tell.”
Jonathan Cortis, the student government adviser to the SBP, said Carson came into office with 188 platform points.
“She had the inner wisdom and gift to surround herself with a cadre of individuals who jumped on that platform,” Cortis said.
According to Cortis, the violence of the incident is a “very sobering wake-up call.”
“I hate to say it, but one of the biggest impacts is the reality of living in Chapel Hill is harsher than people thought,” he said.
Student Body President Bobby Mills, Student Senate President Greg Doucette, and Ben Mazur, senior in religious studies, attended the vigil as well.
“UNC-CH is N.C. State’s sister institution and thus, Eve was more than a colleague; she was my sister, respectively,” Mills said in a written statement. “Today, I have lost a colleague, a friend and a family member. Our hearts and prayers are with Eve’s family, friends, and fellow students.”
Keep checking technicianonline.com for more information on this developing story.
