UNC Chapel Hill shooting suspect found unfit to stand trial, judge rules

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate student charged with fatally shooting a faculty member was found unfit to stand trial after two mental evaluations, a judge said Monday. 

Tailei Qi, 34, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and possession of a gun on educational property after the fatal shooting of associate professor Zijie Yan on Aug. 28. Qi is being held without bond at the Orange County Detention Center and last appeared in court in September.

During a hearing on Monday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Alyson Grine said two separate medical evaluations determined that Qi likely is untreated for schizophrenia, the Associated Press reported. 

“Qi demonstrated delusional thinking, experienced auditory hallucinations, engaged in self-harm in the detention center, showed fragmented thought processes that impeded his communication,” she said.

Grine in court said mental illness has rendered Qi incapable of comprehending his situation, assisting in his legal defense and understanding court proceedings, even with a Mandarin interpreter present, the outlet reported. Qi will be committed to Central Regional Hospital in Butner for psychological treatment, Grine ruled Monday.

Doctors will be required to notify the district attorney if his condition improves, according to the AP.

Campus shooting:Grad student charged with murder in shooting of University of North Carolina faculty member

Autopsy: Faculty member shot multiple times in his office

The August shooting sent the college into a roughly three-hour lockdown. Videos posted on social media showed a heavy police presence, with dozens of officers and a helicopter overhead as people fled buildings, some even climbing out of windows. Classes were canceled at UNC-Chapel Hill just a week into the semester.

Chapel Hill police arrested Qi without incident in a residential neighborhood near campus within two hours of the attack.

The campus locked down again two weeks later after a person was spotted brandishing a gun in the student union building. No injuries were reported in that incident.

An autopsy released in November revealed that Yan had been shot multiple times in his office at the university’s Caudill Labs. Police found nine 9mm cartridge casings scattered around the room, but did not recover a weapon.

Officials have not said how Qi — who was in the United States on a student visa and would not have qualified to purchase a firearm legally — obtained the gun.

Qi is listed in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences on the university's website, accessed by USA TODAY through internet archives. Yan, the faculty member killed in the shooting, is listed as Qi's adviser. The two also co-authored research papers.

Frustrated by weapon culture:Second lockdown at UNC Chapel Hill lockdown lifted after man with gun arrested

Contributing: The Associated Press