In the fall of 2015, Shannon Lamb, a 45-year-old male instructor at Delta State University, became the center of a tragic and violent series of events that spanned the state of Mississippi. The grim saga began in the coastal town of Gautier, where authorities discovered the body of 41-year-old Amy Prentiss in the home she shared with Lamb. She had been fatally shot. Lamb himself alerted the authorities to her death in a 911 call, expressing a sentiment that he would not be going to jail.
At the scene, investigators found a handwritten note in which Lamb expressed profound remorse, stating, 'I am so very sorry I wish I could take it back I loved Amy and she is the only woman who ever loved me.'
From Gautier, Lamb traveled approximately 300 miles north to Cleveland, Mississippi, to the campus of Delta State University. There, in an office in Jobe Hall, he confronted and shot his colleague, 39-year-old history professor Ethan Schmidt. The campus was immediately thrown into chaos and placed on lockdown as students and faculty sheltered in place. The shooting prompted a massive manhunt for Lamb, who was quickly identified as the suspect in both killings. While a definitive motive was never established, there were indications of professional friction between Lamb and Schmidt, with some reports suggesting Lamb may have blamed Schmidt for his failure to obtain tenure. Students had also noted that Lamb seemed agitated in the time leading up to the incident, and he had requested a medical leave of absence from the university.
The search for Shannon Lamb came to a dramatic end later that same day. After a license plate reader picked up his vehicle, police located him in Greenville, Mississippi. As officers closed in, Lamb pulled his car over and fled into a wooded area. Before he could be apprehended, police heard a single gunshot. They found Lamb deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing the day's violent events to a close. As Lamb was the sole suspect in the murders of Amy Prentiss and Ethan Schmidt, no arrests were made, and the case was closed with his death.
