An Illinois Institute of Technology student was beaten to death by another student while returning to campus early Thursday morning.

Jermiron “Jay” Morris, an undergraduate student at IIT, was found around 5 a.m in a parking lot in the 3000 block of South Wabash Avenue near the Keating Sports Center on the South Side school's campus, police said. He was lying on the ground and bleeding from his face, according to investigators.

The school said Morris was on his way to campus when he was involved in a physical altercation with another student. The Chicago Tribune reports that Morris was beaten with a tree branch, but police said it was not clear if a weapon was used.

Morris, 36, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the school and police.

A 43-year-old man was taken into custody and charges are pending, authorities said.

Morris transferred to the Industrial Technology and Management program at the school in 2013 after working as a trucker and earning an Associate’s degree in Logistics at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, according to IIT's website. He was the recipient of IIT’s Presidential Scholarship, a program that offers advanced education for community college students.

The school’s website indicates he was scheduled to graduate in 2016.

On the school's Facebook page, the IIT officer of Spiritual Life and Diversity posted a message saying the school is "heartbroken" by the news.

"Jay was a beloved member of the student community here at Illinois Tech, respected not only by his peers but also by the staff and faculty who had the honor to know him," the post read.

Although police and the school say Morris' death was an isolated incident, campus security remained on high alert Thursday. There have been reports of other incidents near the school's Keating Sports Center, prompting an alert from school officials.