A judge presiding over the case ordered Tailei Qi, a 34-year-old University of North Carolina graduate student, to be held without bond on charges that allege he fatally shot his faculty advisor. The order came as an interpreter explained the proceedings to Qi in Mandarin, with his next court appearance scheduled for September 18.
Qi faces first-degree murder charges, along with other unspecified charges, relating to the Monday killing of Zijie Yan within a science building on the Chapel Hill campus. The incident prompted a roughly three-hour lockdown of the campus, occurring a week after students had returned for the fall semester. Thus far, authorities have not disclosed any potential motive behind the attack.
Zijie Yan was an associate professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, having been employed by the university since 2019, according to a statement released by UNC.
Before the attack, Tailei Qi was listed on the school’s website as a graduate student within Yan’s research group, with Yan serving as his advisor. However, this information has since been removed from the webpage following the incident.