• Riley Howell, one of two students shot and killed on Tuesday at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, tackled the shooter potentially saving lives, according to law enforcement.
• Howell, 21, was an environmental studies major at UNCC. He was in an anthropology class when a gunman opened fire. Two were killed, and four were injured.
• “But for his work, the assailant may not have been disarmed,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said. “Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process. But his sacrifice saved lives.”
• Law enforcement believe Howell was the second to be killed,The Washington Post reported. The other victim was 19-year-old Ellis Parlier. Four others – Drew Pescaro, Sean DeHart, Emily Houpt, and Rami Alramadhan – were wounded.
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Riley Howell, one of two students shot and killed on Tuesday at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, tackled the suspected gunman, according to law enforcement, potentially saving lives.

He “did exactly what we train people to do – you’re either going to run, you’re going to hide and shield, or you’re going to take the fight to the assailant,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said of Howell at a news conference on Wednesday. “Having no place to run and hide, he did the last.”

Howell, 21, was an environmental studies major at UNCC. He was in an anthropology class when a gunman opened fire. Two were killed, and four were injured.

“But for his work, the assailant may not have been disarmed,” Putney said. “Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process. But his sacrifice saved lives.”

Putney said Howell “took the suspect off his feet,” calling him “the first and foremost hero.”

Ellis Parlier, 19, was also killed. Four students – Drew Pescaro, Sean DeHart, Emily Houpt, and Rami Alramadhan – were wounded.

Police took a suspect, 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell, into custody on Wednesday. He has been charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

Read more:
Suspect identified in shooting at UNC Charlotte campus that left 2 people killed, 4 injured

According to Reuters, Terrell was a former student and was familiar with the targeted building. However, no motive has yet been named.

“We can’t really discern the why just yet,” Putney said on Wednesday. “The randomness is what is most concerning.”

The shooting began just after 5:30 p.m. local time on the last day of classes, according to CNN. Law-enforcement officers who were already on campus ahead of a Waka Flocka Flame concert responded to the call.

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