Suspect sought in 2 slayings 300 miles apart

Associated Press

CLEVELAND, Miss.

A college instructor suspected in the fatal shootings of a woman he lived with on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast and a professor at Delta State University 300 miles away still was at large late Monday, but at some point was in contact with police and told them he’s “not going to jail,” authorities said.

During the first hours of the police search for suspect Shannon Lamb, terrified students and teachers hunkered down in classrooms for hours. The Delta State campus was put on lockdown as armed officers methodically went through buildings, checking in closets, behind doors and under tables and desks. The lockdown was lifted hours later, but security remained tight.

Investigators said Lamb, 45, is a suspect in the slayings of 41-year-old Amy Prentiss, who was found dead in the home she shared with Lamb in Gautier; and 39-year-old Ethan Schmidt, a history professor who was killed in his own office on campus in Cleveland, Miss.

Officers in the two cities said they had not uncovered a motive for either slaying.

Cleveland Police Chief Charles “Buster” Bingham said Lamb was considered armed and dangerous but was not believed to be on campus as of Monday evening, hours after Schmidt was slain.

Gautier Police Lt. Scott Wilson and another officer whose name was not given said during a news conference Monday in Gautier said they had spoken with Lamb.

In the news conference broadcast on WLOX-TV, the unidentified officer said anyone coming into contact with Lamb should use extreme caution because police had spoken to the suspect, and “he’s made the statement that he’s not going to jail.”

He would not say when or how police spoke to Lamb.

Lamb received a doctorate in education from Delta State University in the spring of 2015, according to his resume posted on the university’s website. He started working there in 2009 and taught geography and education classes, and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, according to the resume.

Delta State President Bill LaForge said Lamb was teaching two online classes this semester.

Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Johnny Poulos said investigators were searching for a black 2011 Dodge Avenger that they believe Lamb was driving.

The 3,500-student university in Cleveland is in Mississippi’s flat, agricultural region near the Arkansas state line. It was first put on lockdown midmorning amid reports of an active shooter. Everyone on campus was told to take shelter, away from windows.