Shannon Lamb Is A Person Of Interest In Shooting

A history professor was killed in his office at Delta State University in Mississippi on Monday morning, and authorities are still searching for the shooter. The university was on lockdown after Ethan Schmidt, a professor in his mid-50s, was shot and killed on campus. The authorities are searching for Shannon Lamb as a person of interest in the shooting, but have yet to locate him.

Delta State is a small university in Cleveland, Mississippi, near the Arkansas-Mississippi state line. Lamb, director of Delta State's undergraduate social science education program, teaches classes on geography and social studies, according to his faculty profile. He has been a professor at Delta State since 2009, and received his Ph.D. from the university last year, specializing in geography of crime, economic geography, social science education, and high stakes testing.

Lamb, 45, is also a suspect in a homicide in Gautier, Mississippi, about five hours south of Delta State, Gautier Police Detective Matt Hoggatt told CNN. Gautier police confirmed Monday that Lamb is suspected of killing a woman at a home they shared, and then reporting her death over the phone. The woman's name has not yet been released. Hoggatt told CNN that Lamb was last seen driving a green SUV, and that the same vehicle was linked to the Delta State shooting.

Hoggatt told AP: "We're working right now under the assumption that both events are related. We hope that they are not. But at this point in time, information indicates that they probably are linked in some way, shape or form."

According to The Clarion-Ledger, the authorities have the green SUV in question, and believe that Lamb might be in another vehicle. The Mississippi Highway Patrol put out a BOLO ("be on the lookout") for Lamb in a black Dodge Avenger in the Cleveland, Mississippi area. Cleveland Police Chief Charles Bingham, who did not clarify why Lamb is a person of interest in the case, told CNN: "At this time we don't think he's on campus, but we're not taking anything lightly." Campus, city, county, and state police are all assisting in the search for Lamb.

The university remained on lockdown while the shooter was still at large, and classes were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday. University Relations Vice President Michelle Roberts said in an update published by the university: "We are grieving on this campus with this loss, and our condolences are with the family at this time."