Oct. 10 (UPI) — The student accused of shooting a Texas Tech Police officer to death confessed to the crime and has been charged, an arrest warrant states.
Hollis Alvin Daniels III, a freshman at the university, has been charged with capital murder of a police officer. After shooting Officer Floyd East Jr., Daniels told police he “did something illogical” and said “that he was the one that shot their friend,” authorities said.
Texas’ recently enacted campus carry law did not contribute to the fatal shooting because Daniels was 19 — too young to even possess a handgun in the state, let alone on a college campus.
The campus carry law, signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2015, states that applicants for a concealed carry permit must be at least 21 years old and have no felony convictions. Two years ago, an online petition purportedly of Texas Tech faculty and staff opposing the state’s campus carry law garnered almost 850 signatures.
Daniels was taken by campus police on Monday to the police station after they said they found evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia in his dorm room after a routine wellness check. The student then pulled out a gun and shot the officer in the head before fleeing the station on foot.
It is still unclear whether Daniels had the gun on him when he was taken to the police station or if he took the weapon from an officer.
Police later arrested Daniels and booked him early Tuesday morning into the Lubbock County Detention Center, where he is still being held on a $5 million bond.
