UNC Chapel Hill accused shooter Tailei Qi found unfit for trial, referred to mental health facility

The man accused of shooting and killing a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor in August was deemed unfit to stand trial and referred to a mental health facility Monday. 

Tailei Qi, a UNC Chapel Hill Ph.D. student who previously studied in Louisiana and Wuhan, China, allegedly shot and killed Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, inside Caudill Labs, a chemistry laboratory building on Aug. 28, 2023, prompting an hours-long campus lockdown until his arrest in a nearby town. 

According to several reports, Qi was ruled "incapable in proceeding to trial" by reason of mental illness during a court proceeding on Monday. 

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The first-degree murder charge came with the possibility of the death penalty, but the district attorney had said his office would not pursue the death penalty if Qi was convicted, WTVD reported. 

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Orange County Superior Court Judge Alyson Grine ruled Monday that Qi demonstrated delusional thinking, experienced auditory hallucinations and paranoia, engaged in self-harm while in detention, and showed behavior consistent with severe mental illness, according to The News & Observer. 

Two separate mental health evaluations reportedly found that the suspect likely suffers from untreated schizophrenia, rendering him unable to cooperate with his legal counsel. 

The judge ruled Monday that Qi will be committed to Central Regional Hospital in Butner, North Carolina. 

The court said doctors there must notify the district attorney if Qi's condition improves so that court proceedings may continue.