UNCC Holds Remembrance Ceremony On Anniversary Of Deadly Shooting

CHARLOTTE, NC – The University of North Carolina at Charlotte held a virtual remembrance ceremony on Thursday, the one year anniversary of a campus shooting in which two people were killed.

On April 30, 2019, Ellis Parlier, 19, of Midland, North Carolina, and Riley Howell, 21 of Waynesville, North Carolina, were killed in a campus shooting in which four other people were also wounded.

In a virtual tribute to the lives that were affected a year ago posted to the UNC Charlotte Facebook page, Chancellor Philip Dubois reflected on the shooting.

"Today's virtual remembrance will not be the last time we talk about April 30, 2019," he said. "It's part of our essential history, no matter how painful. As I've said before, we will not be defined by the tragedy of April 30 but by the strength of our collective response."

Student Body President Chandler Crean reflected on the events of the day one year ago.

"What matters is what's in our hearts, how we honor the victims, survivors and all those impacted by the tragedy and where we go from here," he said. "Stronger together, as one Niner Nation."

The virtual remembrance also featured an original video created by faculty members that captured the days following the shooting and the perseverance shown by campus and community members.

Police identified the shooting suspect as Trystan Terrell, 22. He was charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder, among other charges.

Following the shooting, Terrell made a full confession to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police investigators, and had been planning the attack for months after researching the 2012 school shooting of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, according to WBTV.

A campus memorial will be constructed in honor of the memory of the victims of the shooting, Dubois said.