North Carolina shooting: Friends and family hail 'hero' student who died tackling gunman in classroom

'I want that to be his legacy, that he lost his life to protect those he cared about,' says classmate

A US student shot dead while confronting a gunman who stormed his university has been given a hero’s send-off by classmates as his body was returned home to his family.

Friends held candles and wore homemade T-shirts reading “Riley Howell is a hero” as they paid tribute to the 21-year-old, who was killed on Tuesday.

Another student, 19-year-old Ellis Parlier, was shot dead and four others were wounded when the gunman opened fire at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Police said Howell probably saved many lives by tackling shooter Trystan Andrew Terrell, who was armed with a legally obtained handgun and a large amount of ammunition.

Howell knocked over Terrell, 22, a former student at the university, buying enough time for an officer to enter the classroom and arrest him.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Kerr Putney said there was no indication the gunman intended to stop shooting until he was tackled.

Howell and about 49 other students were attending end-of-year presentations in an anthropology class when the shooting happened.

"His sacrifice saved lives," said the police chief.

Howell's friend David Belnap was among those who donned tribute T-shirts at a candlelight vigil on campus the night after the shooting, and said he was not surprised by his heroism.

"It seems very much like something he would do,” the second-year student said. “I want that to be his legacy, that he lost his life to protect those he cared about.”

Students kneel at entrance of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte to pray for victims of the shooting (AFP/Getty Images)

Police motorbikes and cars with blue flashing left a Charlotte funeral home on Thursday morning to transport Howell’s body 150 miles to his mountain hometown of Waynesville.

Traffic stopped along the Charlotte’s busy, four-lane streets as the procession went by.

Howell’s family have hailed him as a “big, muscular guy with a huge heart".

The father of his girlfriend of six years, Lauren Westmoreland, said he would have made a fine firefighter or paramedic.

"If what happened in that room is what they say, I completely see Riley doing that," said Kevin Westmoreland. "He was just the kind of person, if someone tripped and fell, he would be the first one to try to help them."

Howell likely went through the same active shooter drills as countless other Americans of his generation. Students are taught to run away if possible, hide if they cannot run, and if those options are blocked off to fight for their lives.

Police have offered no motive for the shooting but believe Terrell, who dropped out of the university earlier this semester, acted alone. It is unclear whether he knew the students he shot.

"We can't really discern the why just yet," Mr Putney said. "The randomness is what is most concerning."

Local news footage broadcast on Tuesday showed officers escorting the suspect – a lanky figure with shaggy hair - from a police car.

As he was taken into a station, he looked over his shoulder with a smile and yelled at reporters: "I just went into a classroom and shot the guys."

Terrell has been charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder. He is due to appear in court on 15 May.

First-degree murder in North Carolina carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment without parole and Terrell could face the death penalty if convicted.