TUCSON, Ariz. — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.
A former University of Arizona graduate student accused of fatally shooting a professor on campus earlier this month has been indicted on seven felony charges including first-degree murder, authorities said.
Pima County prosecutors said a grand jury on Tuesday also charged 46-year-old Murad Dervish with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited possessor, endangerment and burglary.
Dervish is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. He remains held without bond pending a court hearing Thursday.
RELATED: Suspected shooter who killed UArizona professor was previously banned from campus, court docs show
It was still unclear Wednesday if Dervish has been assigned a public defender for his case.
Dervish is accused of killing Thomas Meixner, who headed the school’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences and was an expert on desert water issues.
Campus police said the Oct. 5 shooting occurred inside the Harshbarger Building, which houses the hydrology department.
The relationship between Dervish and Meixner remains unclear, but a criminal complaint said a flyer with a photograph of Dervish had been circulated to university staff in February with instructions to call 911 if he ever entered the building.
The complaint also said Dervish was “expelled” and “barred from being on University of Arizona property” and he had been the subject of several reports of harassment and threats to staff members working at Harshbarger.
In a letter to students and colleagues Monday, university President Robert C. Robbins said campus police tried to get Dervish charged two separate times before the shooting and took the complaints to the county prosecutors but were told there wasn’t enough evidence.
The letter went on to say:
"As we await the conclusions and potential recommendations from the review, and in the interest of openness and transparency, I first want to share with you some of the steps that the University took to address the threatening behavior from the former student. If we could have done better, we will acknowledge it and make changes. But I do believe it is important for you to know that the University took action in regard to the conduct directed toward Professor Meixner and others.
- In January 2022, the former student initially was prohibited from University property.
- In February 2022, the Dean of Students determined that the former student had violated the Student Code of Conduct and recommended expulsion for his behavior directed at University personnel.
- The University assisted the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences in moving faculty.
- Department leadership was provided with pictures of the former student to distribute to members of the department with instructions on how and when to call police.
- The University changed the entry passwords for rooms to which the former student had access as a graduate student.
- The University contacted the former student’s previous educational institution to ascertain additional information about his history, but to no avail.
- The University educated impacted faculty on the legal options available to them—including the filing of harassment charges and injunctions—as well as the opportunity to pursue criminal charges against the former student with the Pima County Attorney’s Office (PCAO).
- In the Spring of 2022, UAPD brought information forward to the PCAO in an attempt to charge the former student based on his communications directed toward a University staff member. The PCAO declined to move forward with charges.
- University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) officers made at least two visits to the former student’s home to follow up on threats he had made against University personnel. Officers spoke with him on one of those occasions in April.
- In June 2022, at the conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings following his appeal, the former student was formally expelled. Upon expulsion from the University, he was permanently banned from campus and university activities.
- In August 2022, the University diverted incoming emails from the former student to University email accounts into a separate email account that could be reviewed by UAPD and certain other parties.
- In mid-September 2022, UAPD again sought charges against the former student by bringing information forward to PCAO regarding the former student’s harassment of faculty. As of this date, the PCAO has not notified UAPD of its determination on those charges.
“In neither instance did the facts of the complaint meet the evidentiary requirements for charging (Dervish) with the crime of threats and intimidation at that time,” County Attorney Laura Conover said in a statement.
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