Two Dead in Murder-Suicide at U. of South Carolina

Two people died Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide inside the University of South Carolina's Public Health Research Center. The university canceled all classes inside the new school of public health and sent out two alerts through its emergency messaging system. "Today, the USC family experienced a great tragedy," Harris Pastides, South Carolina's president, said in a statement, but he did not say if those involved in the shooting were students or faculty.  Earlier this week, two Tulane University students also died in a murder-suicide. In an e-mail to students Sunday, Michael Fitts, Tulane's president, described the past year as "extraordinarily difficult." At least four Tulane students have committed suicide since August.

In November, a University of South Carolina student was killed by her boyfriend, and in October, a San Francisco State University student was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend. Both killings were also murder-suicides.