Campus Alert Archive
UA

Former Grad Student Fatally Shoots Professor in Targeted Attack Despite Prior Campus Ban

AZshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On October 5, 2022, former graduate student Murad Dervish fatally shot hydrology professor Dr. Thomas Meixner inside the John W. Harshbarger Building on the University of Arizona campus. Dervish had been expelled and banned from campus months earlier for harassing faculty after receiving a poor grade.

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
1
Institution
University of Arizona
Public R1 · AZ
~49,000 studentsUAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimU of A Office of Public Safety official Twitter/X account (@UArizonaPolice), status 1577769945278124032100 chars
Police responded to Harshbarger bldg for a shooting. Stay away from surrounding area. More to follow
Verbatim from the official @UArizonaPolice Twitter account; this was one of the first public notifications about the shooting
Uses abbreviated 'bldg' consistent with UA Police Twitter style; 'More to follow' signals an active, developing situation
Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so MST (UTC-7) was in effect throughout the incident
UPDATETwitter/X
Verified verbatimU of A Office of Public Safety official Twitter/X account (@UArizonaPolice), status 157778481353628057979 chars
Male suspect was ID'd but no longer on scene. Police currently looking for him.
Verbatim from the @UArizonaPolice Twitter account; confirms suspect identification but announces he has fled -- a key shift from active shooting to manhunt posture
Abbreviated 'ID'd' is consistent with law-enforcement Twitter communication style under time pressure
Murad Dervish had fled wearing a surgical mask and baseball cap; he was arrested over 120 miles away near Gila Bend approximately 3 hours later
UPDATEmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction159 chars
UAlert UPDATE: UAPD is responding to a shooting at Harshbarger Building. Suspect has fled the area. Continue to shelter in place. Campus lockdown is in effect.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed based on news reports that the campus remained on lockdown while police searched for the suspect
Dervish had fled the scene wearing a surgical mask and baseball cap as a disguise
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction149 chars
UAlert: The campus lockdown and shelter in place have been lifted. Please stay away from the Harshbarger building area. The investigation is ongoing.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reports that UA police lifted the lockdown around 3:30 PM MST but asked people to avoid Harshbarger
The suspect had not yet been captured when the shelter-in-place was lifted; he was arrested approximately two hours later near Gila Bend
Context

Background

On October 5, 2022, 46-year-old Murad Dervish entered the John W. Harshbarger Building on the University of Arizona campus and shot Professor Thomas Meixner, the head of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, 11 times near his office. A building manager was also grazed by a bullet. Dervish had been a graduate student in the atmospheric sciences program but was banned from campus in January 2022 and later expelled for ongoing issues with professors after receiving a poor grade. A flyer with Dervish's photograph had been circulated to staff with instructions to call 911 if he was seen. Despite these precautions, Dervish entered the building wearing a surgical mask and baseball cap. The campus was locked down for over an hour before the shelter-in-place was lifted. Dervish was arrested by Arizona DPS troopers on a highway near Gila Bend, more than 120 miles from Tucson, approximately three hours after the shooting. A subsequent investigation by Inside Higher Ed found that multiple warnings about Dervish had been raised but not adequately acted upon, prompting significant scrutiny of the university's threat assessment procedures.
Analysis

Key Findings

The shooter had been formally banned from campus and expelled months before the attack, yet was able to gain access
Staff had been given a flyer with the suspect's photo and instructions to call 911, indicating awareness of the threat
The campus lockdown was lifted before the suspect was captured, highlighting the challenge of maintaining lockdowns during extended manhunts
Outcome
Professor Thomas Meixner was killed and a building manager was grazed by a bullet. Dervish fled but was arrested by Arizona DPS troopers on a highway near Gila Bend, over 120 miles from campus, approximately three hours later. He was convicted of first-degree murder on May 21, 2024 (along with five additional felony counts including aggravated assault), sentenced to natural life in prison plus consecutive terms (7.5 years for aggravated assault, 3.5 years for burglary, and one year for endangerment) on June 24, 2024. On March 17, 2026, Dervish's attorney argued his appeal in Tucson, claiming the trial judge was biased.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Police: Ex-student fatally shoots professor in University of Arizona building (Arizona Daily Star)
    tucson.com
  2. News
    Suspect accused of fatally shooting professor was barred from campus (ABC News)
    abcnews.go.com
  3. News
    UPDATE: Suspect apprehended in shooting at U of A campus (KOLD-TV)
    kold.com
  4. News
    Report: Warnings ignored before U of Ariz. professor killed (Inside Higher Ed)
    insidehighered.com
  5. News
    Former UArizona grad student found guilty of murder (CBS News)
    cbsnews.com
  6. official social media
    UA Office of Public Safety on X: initial shooting alert (status 1577769945278124032)
    twitter.com
  7. official social media
    UA Office of Public Safety on X: suspect fled alert (status 1577784813536280579)
    twitter.com
Tags
shootingtargeted-violenceprofessor-killedformer-studentarizonapublic-r1threat-assessment-failure
Added April 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion