What did Mickel Deonte Harris do? Suspect arrested as armed person prompts lockdown at UNC-Chapel Hill campus 

On Wednesday, September 13, 27-year-old Mickel Deonte Harris allegedly threatened people with a gun at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After the armed suspect was reported, the institution was promptly placed under lockdown by the administration.

Local officials swiftly apprehended Harris near the Greenfield Complex, around 10 to 12 minutes away from the university campus. There were no reports of any casualties or shots fired in the incident.

Trigger warning: This article concerns gun violence. The reader's discretion is advised.

The recent threat at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus currently remains under investigation by local authorities. As the case is in its early stages, officials have not yet confirmed Mickel Deonte Harris' alleged motive behind brandishing the firearm.

---

Durham resident Mickel Deonte Harris has an extensive criminal history

As per WSOCTV, the lockdown was initiated at 12:55 pm, after Durham man Mickel Deonte Harris was reportedly seen waving a firearm at UNC-Chapel Hill's Alpine Bagel, an area near the student union. After people informed the administration about Harris, students and staff were provided with a shelter-in-place order. Alarms could reportedly be heard across the campus for more than an hour.

At 1:30 pm, the shelter-in-place order was reinforced. The Hill noted that a similar alert was issued once more at 1:34 pm, with the administration requesting students to put their phones on silent. By 2:10 pm, the threat was considered neutralized, and students were told to return to their regular routines. At around 2:45 pm, Harris was arrested and taken into custody.

In an official statement, UNC police chief Brian James discussed the arrest.

"According to witnesses, a suspect confronted an employee of Alpine Bagel which is inside the union, displayed a firearm, and threatened the employee. (In response) we did a number of sweeps on the grounds of campus, the outer perimeter and we had assurance that the suspect was not on campus."

In an official statement, the UNC-Chapel Hill administration discussed the course of events. The recent lockdown has caused outrage, as it occurred just weeks after a fatal August 28 shooting on the campus. The last shooting incident occurred when UNC Associate Professor Zijie Yan was killed by Tailei Qi, a research student from Wuhan.

UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz discussed the toll the recent spate of violence had on the UNC community and said,

"We want everyone to sort of process this, grieve in the way that they need to, and this situation, fortunately, as I've said, nobody was injured, but yet, twice in 16 days, there will be anxiety. And we just want to reassure everyone that we have the support systems in place to help."

According to the Chapel Hill Police Department, suspect Mickel Deonte Harris was well known to university authorities. He already had an outstanding warrant for a September 5 road rage-related assault that occurred at the Carolina Blue Mini Mart. According to ABC 11, the suspect had brandished a firearm during an argument near Old Chapel Hill.

As per police records, Harris had also been linked to an undisclosed incident that occurred shortly before the lockdown on Wednesday, September 14. The university has said that the brandishing of a firearm may have been linked to a confrontation with campus security, but no further details have been released. Officials have also not yet disclosed the new charges against the suspect.

Mickel Deonte Harris was arrested and taken to the Chapel Hill Police Department. He is currently being held in the Orange County Jail, and his first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday at 2 pm.