Former student arrested in death of UA professor had been expelled, threatened staff members
Details are emerging about a former University of Arizona student who was arrested on a charge of killing Thomas Meixner, the head of the university's Hydrology Department.
According to an interim complaint filed with the Pima County Justice Court on Friday, Murad Dervish was expelled from the university in February and barred from the property. Police said he had harassed and threatened staff members multiple times before. It is unclear exactly why he was expelled or when he studied under Meixner.
The complaint states that an email was sent to UA staff in February with Dervish’s picture and instructions to call 911 if he was seen entering the building.
At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Meixner was shot and another person, whose name was redacted, was injured by a bullet fragment at their office in UA's Harshbarger Building, according to the complaint. Dervish was identified in the area by several people who had seen him and called 911, police said.
Meixner was pronounced dead after being taken to Banner University Medical System.
Previously: Head of UA Hydrology Department, Thomas Meixner, identified as killed in campus shooting
After the shooting, Dervish fled the building, police said. Three hours later, the police found Dervish driving on Highway 85 toward Mexico 30 miles south of Gila Bend, according to the complaint.
Documents say Dervish refused to stop, leading police on a chase for 2 to 3 miles. His car was successfully stopped using a PIT maneuver, according to the court documents.
A subsequent search revealed a 9mm handgun loaded with ammunition consistent with the 11 shell casings found at the murder scene, police said.
According to the documents, before he was questioned, Dervish told police, “I hope he’s OK, probably wishful thinking," and that he felt "so disrespected by that whole department.” He also said he had considered suicide.
Dervish was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a prior unrelated protection order. Dervish is being charged on suspicion of first-degree murder and aggravated assault.
Coverage of southern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America in association with The Republic.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man arrested in death of UA professor Thomas Meixner had been expelled
