The University of North Carolina-Charlotte verified Ellis Parlier, 19, and Riley Howell, 21, of North Carolina were the two victims killed during a school shooting Tuesday evening.
“This is the worst day in the history of UNC Charlotte,” UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois said Tuesday night.
According to the Asheville Citizen Times, Howell graduated from Roberson High School in 2016 where he was involved with soccer and cross-country. Lucas Tate, who said he went to high school with Howell and considered him one of his best friends, said that Howell’s loved ones were unable to contact him after the shooting. They later were informed he was in class in the same building as the shooting.
“He had an amazing soul,” Tate said of Howell. “He always brought light into the room and he just cared about people more than himself. He was just that kind of person.”
Parlier graduated from the Central Academy of Technology and Arts in 2017, the Greenville News reports.
“It’s very shocking as you can imagine. Our community is still in shock in dealing with this loss,” Tahira Stalberte, a representative for the Union County Public Schools in North Carolina, told the Greenville News. “The news is still very fresh in our community.”
The families of both Parlier and Howell declined to provide comment to the Charlotte Observer.
Four students were also injured in the shooting. According to the university, the injured students were Rami Alramadhan, 20, from Saudi Arabia; Sean Dehart, 20, of North Carolina; Emily Houpt, 23, of North Carolina; and Drew Pescaro, 19, of North Carolina.
According to Dubois, three of the students underwent surgery, and one has already been released from the hospital.
“The only silver lining this morning is the four other students that were injured look like they’re going to be fine,” Dubois said during a radio interview with WBT Wednesday morning.
The suspect was taken into custody Tuesday evening, and the campus remained on lockdown until just before midnight on Tuesday.
