Washington, Sep 15 (IANS): A geography professor at a university in Mississippi state of the US, suspected of killing a colleague, committed suicide after initially being on the run, media reported on Tuesday.

After being on the run for several hours, the professor, Shannon Lamb, of the Delta State University shot himself fatally late Monday night, EFE news reported.

Lamb is also suspected of killing his partner, Amy Prentiss, 41, whose body was found Monday morning in the house in Gautier where she lived with Lamb.

Lamb allegedly shot the 50-year-old victim, Ethan Schmidt, a fellow history professor, twice while he was working in his office at the university.

Delta State University, which has 3,500 students and is located in Cleveland, ordered a lock down on Monday after noticing the presence of an "active attacker" on campus.

All classes were suspended for the day and the University also cancelled plans to celebrate its 90th anniversary on Tuesday.