Dr. Thomas Meixner was 52 and chair of the University of Arizona’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences when he was shot multiple times near his office on the afternoon of October 5, 2022. He was taken to a local medical center and pronounced dead. The shooting occurred inside the John W. Harshbarger Building on the Tucson campus and prompted a campus-wide lockdown.

Authorities say the shooter was 48-year-old former graduate student Murad Dervish, who had been expelled months earlier after conflicts over a poor grade and had repeatedly harassed and threatened staff. Staff had been circulated a flyer with his photo and told to call 911 if he was seen. Dervish left the scene, was stopped about three hours later more than 120 miles northwest of Tucson, and police found a loaded 9 mm handgun with ammunition consistent with the casings at the scene.

Prosecutors argued the attack was premeditated; defense attorneys raised an insanity plea. A jury rejected that defense and convicted Dervish of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and other felonies, and he received life without parole.

If anyone knew Dr. Meixner, his work, or the department and has information about the events leading up to October 5, please come forward.