UNC student leader found dead; police say shooting was random

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina student body president was found shot to death on a city street in what police said Thursday appeared to be a random crime, stunning the campus community.

Thousands of students gathered silently on campus to mourn Eve Marie Carson, whose body was discovered about a mile away early Wednesday. The 22-year-old senior from Athens, Ga., had been shot several times, including at least once in the head, police said. Officials said there are no suspects and no arrests have been made.

“We have lost someone whom we cherish and love,” university Chancellor James Moeser told a massive crowd on the school’s Polk Place quad. “We’re all in a state of shock.”

Police found Carson’s vehicle, a blue 2005 Toyota Highlander with Georgia plates, about a mile from where her body was found after receiving a tip Thursday afternoon from a witness who spotted it near the main drag through the popular college town.

Carson’s body was found on the street at an intersection after neighbors reported hearing shots about 5 a.m. Wednesday in an upscale residential area. It was not clear why she was in the area, which does not have student housing.

Police publicly identified the shooting victim as Carson on Thursday, and Police Chief Brian Curran said her death appeared to be a random act. Police had no evidence other than her car, and the medical examiner said there was no indication that Carson had been sexually assaulted.

Curran said police had been in contact with authorities in Alabama investigating the killing of a female student at Auburn University, but added that the cases do not appear to be connected.

Moeser said there was nothing to link Carson’s slaying to anyone on North Carolina’s campus.

“My information is she was an extraordinarily busy woman and it wasn’t unusual for her to go to the office in the middle of the night,” Curran said. “But we don’t know that’s what she was doing.”

Carson was last seen alive 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, when she stayed behind at home to do schoolwork while her roommates went out.

Moeser said he got a call early Thursday informing him that Carson was the victim.

“It was shocking,” he said. “I sat down and said ‘Oh my God.’ I couldn’t believe this.”