Suspect in shooting at Delta State University kills himself

Sept. 15--WASHINGTON -- The man suspected of shooting dead a history professor in Mississippi has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, news reports said late Monday.

The suspect, Shannon Lamb, allegedly shot Ethan Schmidt in his office at Delta State University on Monday morning, NBC News reported, quoting Charles Bingham, police chief in the town of Cleveland.

Lamb was also a professor at the university, the report said.

The campus was shut down following the initial shooting, and students and faculty were ordered to remain indoors, said Bingham in Cleveland, about 150 kilometres north-west of Jackson, the state capital.

Bingham declined to provide more information about Lamb's teaching position or connection to Schmidt, 45.

Authorities suspected a link between the university shooting and the fatal shooting of a woman in the town of Gautier, nearly 500 kilometres away in southern Mississippi. Bingham refused to explain the possible connection.

Gautier police confirmed that Lamb was a suspect in the slaying there, Mississippi newspaper the Sun Herald reported. Lamb had reported the woman's death by telephone, according to the newspaper.

Delta State University, which has about 4,000 students, said on its website that Lamb is a geographer and coordinator of social sciences education. He obtained his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at Delta State.

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