The Texas Tech University community is in mourning after the death of a campus police officer. Hollis Daniels, a freshman at the Lubbock, Texas college, murdered the officer after being taken into custody for a dorm room drug bust.
At 7:45 P.M. on the night of Monday, October 9, Daniels allegedly opened fire at the campus police headquarters, shooting the officer in the head and sending the campus into lockdown. At this point, it is still unknown how or where Daniels got the weapon. After the shooting, the university advised its students to stay indoors and remain calm before Daniels was apprehended later that night.
Daniels, a 19-year-old Seguin native, had been approached by police for the purpose of a welfare check, which basically means that they’d been advised he was a physical danger to either himself or others. It was alleged that the student was under the influence of drugs. Officers took him from his dorm room to the scene of the eventual crime. After the shooting, Daniels fled on foot. He was captured less than two hours later.
Daniels’ Facebook profile says that he studies communication arts at the school. According to the Daily Mail, online records indicate that this wasn’t his first scuffle with the law. He had allegedly been involved in previous incidents with the campus police.
Daniels’ father is allegedly a city councilman who also owns a chain of movie theaters, one of which the younger Daniels’ managed.
Though there is no clear motive at this point, Daniels allegedly posted “Why God do I gotta suffer?” recently on social media, indicating some sort of distress.
Texas’ Governor Greg Abbott offered his condolences to the officer’s family as well as the university’s campus community.
“First and foremost, our hearts go out to the family of the police officer killed at Texas Tech University. I have spoken to Chancellor Robert Duncan to offer my condolences, and I have mobilized the Texas Department of Public Safety to offer any assistance to the Lubbock Police Department. As the Texas Tech campus deals with this heartbreaking tragedy, Cecilia and I pray for the continued safety of the students and the entire community.”
Our hearts go out to the school’s police department, its students and the officer’s loved ones.