Four students were among five people shot at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Tuesday night during homecoming week, putting the school on lockdown for more than two hours.
As of early Wednesday, no arrests had been made in the shooting on the campus of Maryland’s historically black college, and police did not say whether they believe more than one suspect opened fire.
According to police, four men and a woman between the ages of 18 and 22, all students at the university, were shot when gunfire broke out around 9:25 p.m.
None of the injuries were life-threatening, police said.
Morgan State University police were patrolling the campus when they heard gunshots and called Baltimore police for backup.
Campus police officers located the victims and treated them at the scene before they were rushed to area hospitals.
Officers noted that bullets had shattered several windows and feared the shooter may have been ready to commit more violence.
Baltimore police then issued an alert around 10 p.m. warning of an active shooter situation near campus in the 1700 block of Argonne Drive and urged residents to shelter in place.
At 11:45 p.m., police said there was no longer a threat of an active shooter, and shortly after 12:30 a.m., Morgan State University announced that the stay-at-home order had been lifted and had resumed the transportation service.
A Baltimore council member said there may have been more than one shooter.
“There are believed to have been three shooters shooting into the crowd,” Councilman Ryan Dorsey said on X, formerly Twitter.
At least four people were shot on the University of Maryland campus, Baltimore police spokesman Vernon Davis told the Baltimore Banner. WJZThe shooter allegedly fired from a campus dorm window.WJZ
But police officers could not confirm the number of shooters early Wednesday.
Morgan State University had asked people to stay away from the area surrounding its Thurgood Marshall Hall and the Murphy Fine Arts Center. He also asked concerned parents to avoid the campus area and instead report to a nearby parking lot during the closure.
His students had been celebrating homecoming week before the university’s big game scheduled for Saturday when bullets flew.
Just hours earlier, the university hosted a coronation event to crown Mister and Miss Morgan State.
The injuries of those shot at Morgan State University were not life-threatening. Evidence markers outside a building at Morgan State University after a shooting on Oct. 4, 2023, in Baltimore.AP
University President David Wilson said the event at the Murphy Fine Arts Center was nearly full as parents from across the country joined students on campus.
“This was an incredibly beautiful event tonight and our students ultimately headed to the Student Center to rejoice and enjoy themselves as this unfortunate situation erupted on campus,” Wilson said at a news conference earlier Wednesday.
The traumatic shooting overshadowed the week’s homecoming celebrations and classes were canceled Wednesday, with around-the-clock counseling available for students.
Police raid dormitory at Morgan State University.@Evvstacks /X Police raid dormitories at Morgan State University. @Evvstacks/X
One student told local CBS affiliate station WJZ that she mistook the sound of gunshots for fireworks due to the week’s ongoing celebration events.
Another student’s brother said his brother was locked in a campus bathroom after the shooting.
“Right now, my brother just texted my mom telling her that they are locked in the bathrooms at the stadium right now waiting for them to come out,” Antonio said.
Baltimore police alerted the public to an active shooter situation in the 1700 block of Argonne Drive, near the historically black university’s campus, shortly after 10 p.m. Police could not confirm the number of shooters at Morgan State University . Fox 5 DC
The station posted images of a broken seventh-floor window with a clear bullet hole in a residence hall occupied primarily by freshmen. It is unclear whether the gunman had fired shots from the bedroom through the window or into the room from outside, WJZ reported.
Baltimore police, SWAT agents and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) could be seen entering the building and conducting a complete sweep of the room with the broken window, according to the news station.
Police officers later said the shooting occurred outside.
The ATF office in Baltimore confirmed it was assisting local police at the scene.
The Morgan State University campus was closed for about two hours Tuesday night.AP
The shooting is not the first to occur on campus around the time of homecoming.
One year ago, in October 2022, a student was shot during an unauthorized welcome party outside the university’s student center, and two years ago, in October 2021, a different student was shot in a fight at campus amid celebrations, the Baltimore Banner reported. .
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, however, said the problem of gun violence is not specific to the university or the city, but rather is a nationwide epidemic that must be addressed at the federal level.
“This morning, the hearts of the entire city of Baltimore ache for the Morgan community, for these victims and their families, and for our city as a whole,” he said at a morning news conference.
“This unfortunate and unacceptable tragedy joins, as we know, a long list of universities and schools across the country that have seen incidents like this… We need action.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn