Records: 2 guns, knives, machetes found in car of suspect in fatal UA shooting

Multiple weapons, including knives, machetes and two handguns, were found in the vehicle of the former student who authorities said shot and killed a University of Arizona professor last week.

According to the search warrant return, five knives, two machetes, a Ruger Max 9mm pistol, a loaded Raven Arms .25-caliber pistol, boxes of ammunition and magazines were found in Murad Dervish’s vehicle. The receipt for the Ruger handgun, Dervish’s University of Arizona identification card and multiple changes of clothing were also found, according to the document filed by university police.

During the pat down, officers found mace on Dervish, records say. Three cell phones were also found in the vehicle, with one of them inside of a bag that blocks signals and prevents tracking.

Officers also searched Dervish’s house, where they found a knife sheath, a knife box and eviction paperwork. A week before the shooting, the Tucson Justice Court gave Dervish a five-day notice after he failed to pay his $895 rent, court records show. Dervish failed to appear for his hearing.

On Oct. 5, police said Dervish, 46, entered the John W. Harshbarger Building and shot Professor Thomas Meixner in an office. Meixner was the head of the school’s hydrology department and an expert on desert water issues. According to the interim complaint, Meixner was shot at least four times with a 9mm handgun.

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Dervish fled and was found three hours later traveling south on Arizona 85 toward Mexico, 30 miles south of Gila Bend, court records say. Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers had to use a PIT maneuver to get the vehicle to stop after Dervish refused to pull over.

He is being held without bond in the Pima County jail.

Dervish, who had been the subject of several reports of harassment and threats to staff members working at the Harshbarger Building, was expelled from the UA in February and was barred from being on campus. The UA Police Department said it was in the process of completing an exclusionary order for Dervish when the shooting happened.

Funeral services are Friday, Oct. 14, for Meixner.