One person died and 16 were injured after a shooting incident at Tuskegee University – National
Sunday's shooting at Tuskegee University in Alabama left one person dead and 16 injured, 12 of them with gunshot wounds, authorities said.
The shooting victim, an 18-year-old youth, was not a university student, but others were injured. No arrests were immediately announced.
Twelve people were injured in the shooting, and four others suffered injuries unrelated to the gunfire, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
The FBI has joined the investigation and said it is seeking tips from the public, as well as any video witnesses they may have. Build a site online for people to upload video.
The shooting occurred as the black university's 100th homecoming week ended. Tuskegee University announced that all classes on Monday have been canceled. Grief counselors will be available to help university students.
“The parents of this person have been informed. “Several others, including Tuskegee University students, were injured and received treatment at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery,” the university said in a statement.
An autopsy on the 18-year-old was scheduled at the Montgomery County Medical Examiner's Office, Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley told The Associated Press on Sunday. The city's police chief, Patrick Mardis, said the injured included a female student who was shot in the stomach and a man who was shot in the arm.
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City police were responding to an unrelated shooting when officers received a call about a shooting on the university's West Commons campus, Mardis said.
“Some idiots started shooting,” Mardis told Al.com. “You couldn't get emergency vehicles there, there were so many people there.
The shooting occurred as the black university's 100th homecoming week ended. The university is notifying parents, the school said in a statement.
A person who answered the phone at the Tuskegee police chief's office said they had no further information.
“Special Agents are still in the process of gathering and evaluating information related to the sequence of events that ultimately led to the shooting,” the agency said in a statement.
In his 37 years as a coroner, Bentley said he doesn't recall any shootings during homecoming celebrations. The situation around the small town of about 9,000 people was sad, he said.
The shooting has left the entire university community reeling, said Amare' Hardee, a Tallahassee, Florida senior who is president of the student government association.
“This senseless act of violence has affected each and every one of us, directly or indirectly,” he said at the school's homecoming assembly Sunday morning.
The pastor who leads the Tuskegee National Alumni Association told those at Sunday's service that the shooting is a reminder of the fragile nature of life.
“It is in times like these that we must be reminded not to stand up for ourselves because in a time like this, I have no understanding,” said Pastor James Quincy III.
“I can only rely on my faith, and my prayer for our whole family, this community, as we close this wonderful family meeting that we participated in this week,” said Quincy, “and most importantly because of that journey of faith and that trust.” To God, that we may have endurance, strength in the time of trouble.”
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama — the school's opponent in Tuskegee's home football game Saturday — released a statement expressing its condolences.
“Today, our hearts go out to the Tuskegee family as they deal with the tragedy of the latest shooting on campus,” the college said. “We extend our deepest condolences to those affected and pray for healing and justice. Miles College stands with you in this difficult time.”
Sunday's incident happened just over a year after four people were injured in a shooting at Tuskegee University's student housing complex. In this shooting incident, two visitors to the school were shot and two students were injured as they tried to leave what school officials described as an “unauthorized party” in September 2023, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
About 3,000 students are enrolled in this university located 64 kilometers east of Alabama's capital, Montgomery.
The university was the first historically black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974, according to the school's website.
Norma Clayton, chairwoman of the board of trustees, said at the Sunday morning service that “we will face this together because in difficult times, strong people come together and survive.”
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