MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A Central Michigan University student suspected of killing his parents last March in his dormitory room pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
WEYI reports that a judge remanded James Eric Davis Jr. for 60 days of evaluation and treatment. After 30 days, a petition will be filed to commit him to the State of Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry, where he will remain indefinitely.
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Davis Jr.'s parents, James Davis Sr., 48, and Diva Davis, 48, were found shot to death in his Campbell Hall room just before 9 a.m. March 2, 2018.
Davis Jr. was charged with two counts of open murder and one count of felony firearm possession.
Authorities held a news conference Saturday to give an update on the situation. Watch it below.
Train operator spots suspect near tracks
Police got a tip from a train operator just after midnight March 3 about a person standing near the tracks in the area where authorities had been searching for Davis Jr. since the fatal shooting.
Authorities said it took two minutes for police to arrive and take him into custody without incident.
Davis Jr. was hypothermic and not making sense when he was found, authorities said.
Here's a video of police searching near train tracks March 2.
Suspect seen with father's gun before shooting
Davis Jr.'s father was a police officer in Bellwood, Illinois, which is just west of Chicago.
Authorities said Davis Jr. was seen on video coming from the parking lot to his dorm with a gun that was registered to his father. Though his father was a police officer, CMU is a gun-free zone and only active law enforcement officers are allowed to have guns on campus. Since he was an officer in Illinois, he would have needed special permission to have the gun on campus, authorities said.
Authorities said the shooting happened as students were leaving for spring break, so it's unknown if someone missed Davis Jr. entering the dorm building with the gun because students were busy moving off campus for the week.
Davis Jr. tells community policing officer he was frightened
Davis Jr. had contact with his dormitory's community policing officer about 9:45 a.m. March 1, the morning before the fatal shooting.
He ran to the officer and said someone was out to hurt him. Davis Jr. said the person had a gun, but he couldn't say who they were, where they were going to harm him or when, authorities said. He wasn't making sense when he spoke to the officer and he said he just had a feeling that someone was after him.
The officer was eventually able to get a name from Davis Jr. Officers contacted the person to interview him and determine if he was a threat. Authorities said that the person did not have any weapons registered to them and they didn't believe there was a threat to Davis Jr.
Davis Jr. taken to hospital early Friday morning
Authorities again had contact with Davis Jr. before the shooting. At about 1:15 a.m., officers were at the dorm for an unrelated call when they saw him in the hallway with suitcases and bags. They asked him if he was OK, then had him call his parents because he wasn't acting logically, police said.
The officer spoke to his mother and told her that there were concerns that Davis Jr. may be on drugs. She said she was concerned as well and she would be on her way to CMU right away.
Davis Jr. was taken to a local medical center, where his parents picked him up later that morning.
Shooting prompted lockdown as authorities searched for suspect
The campus was placed on lockdown after the shooting, which police said happened about 8:40 a.m. Students and faculty members received a robocall alert from the university about 9:30 a.m.
"I never envisioned it could happen at Central Michigan University," CMU President George E. Ross said. "We are a safe community. We are a safe campus."
At 10:43 a.m., school officials named Davis Jr. as a person of interest in the case. He was later named a suspect during a police news conference around noon.
Police called this a domestic shooting and stressed the campus was safe as they continued to search for the suspect.
"It was a mother and a father and a son involved in this initial confrontation that ended up with tragically losing two people," Chief Bill Yeagley said.
Davis Jr. was spotted on campus surveillance cameras fleeing the area of Campbell Hall. He was headed north, police said.
"The danger that our community has experienced over the last 24 hours or so is now over," Yeagley said.
CMU officials said extra counselors will be available as students return to school next week. A vigil was set to take place around 7 p.m. Saturday.
Father T.J. Fleming led a small group in prayer.
"Growing up, I always prayed when something bad happens. You pray for the victims, you pray for everyone affected by it, so that's what we're doing here," student Bridget Parker said.
"There are a lot of school shootings going around, but you never think it's going to hit your school," student Grace Cummings said. "It definitely is a shocker and it does put some fear in you because you never know if it's going to happen again."
Students said they're praying for the kids left behind, and their brother, the suspected shooter.
"A lot of people are obviously angry at him, but it's important in situations like this to pray for them because if we don't, like, no one's going to," student Kelsey Bogrow said.
"While that definitely does not excuse his actions whatsoever, forgiveness is still important," Parker said.