CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Newly obtained surveillance video shows the UNC Charlotte gunman's behavior in the hours leading up to the deadly April 30 shooting as he rode the light rail alongside unassuming passengers.
NBC Charlotte requested the video from Charlotte Area Transit Systems (CATS). CATS shared the video with police following the crime, which left two students dead and four others injured.
As a warning, the video may be difficult to watch, especially for those personally impacted.
Several camera angles show the gunman walking onto a train at the 36th Street Station near his apartment. He rode the train for 22 minutes to the UNC Charlotte Station. The entire time, the video showed him carrying a black bag. When police later arrested him after the shooting, court records indicated a black bag containing several loaded magazines was found.
The video showed the gunman, seen wearing all black, navigate his way between other passengers to board the train at 12:09 pm. Once inside, the video showed him take a seat alone. He put his backpack on the seat next time
At times, he can be seen sharing the train car with at least six others.
The video showed him make multiple movements in the minutes that followed. At times he appeared to be restless; talking to himself as he rubbed his hands on his pants and his knee.
He kept to himself, facing forward, looking down, occasionally staring out the window. Every now-and-then he looked around. At one point, he looked over his shoulder and then pulled something out of his pocket and later put it back in his pocket. He also looked at something and then looked over his other shoulder later in the trip.
For all the unsuspecting passengers he rode alongside, the trip likely seemed just like any other: uneventful, a good chance to take a selfie or share a laugh, unaware what would follow in the coming hours.
By 12:31, the train arrived at his stop. He grabbed his backpack and exited the train with his face right in front of the camera. As he exited, his shirt, an apparent nod to the Sia album "This is Acting," was also in view. He stepped onto the platform and walked away.
Five hours and 11 minutes later, police said he opened fire inside a classroom. It's still unclear exactly how the man spent the several hours in between, but court records showed before the shooting, he went into a campus bathroom to prepare himself and load his gun.
Officers later booked him wearing the same clothes.