Fatal shooting at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss.

After an intense manhunt, authorities in Mississippi said a college instructor wanted in the deaths of a woman he lived with and a university professor he worked with died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound as police closed in on him.

Investigators said Lamb, 45, was a suspect in the slayings of 41-year-old Amy Prentiss, who was found dead in the home she shared with Lamb in Gautier; and 39-year-old Ethan Schmidt, a history professor who was killed in his office on campus in Cleveland.

The campus was put on lockdown as armed officers methodically went through buildings, checking in closets, behind doors and under tables and desks.

University President William LaForge said late Monday that the lockdown had been lifted. He said there would be no classes Tuesday but students, faculty and staff were invited to campus to attend a vigil in the evening.

Officers in the two cities said they had not uncovered a motive for either slaying. Bingham said it was still early in the investigation. LaForge said Lamb had earlier asked for a medical leave of absence, saying he had a medical issue of some sort. But LaForge gave no information about the medical issue.

Gautier Police Lt. Scott Wilson said during a news conference Monday that police had spoken with Lamb.

Wilson said Lamb made the statement to law enforcement but would not say when or how police spoke to Lamb.

Lamb received a doctorate in education from Delta State University in the spring of 2015, according to his resume posted on the university's website. He started working there in 2009 and taught geography and education classes, and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.

LaForge said Lamb was teaching two online classes this semester.

The 3,500-student university in Cleveland is in Mississippi's flat, agricultural region near the Arkansas state line. (AP)

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