An early Sunday morning shooting at Tuskegee University in Alabama left one individual dead and injured 16 others, with 12 people wounded by gunfire, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
The deceased was identified as an 18-year-old male who was not a student at the university, though some of those injured were students. Authorities have not yet announced any arrests.
The incident occurred at the West Commons on-campus apartments as Tuskegee University’s 100th Homecoming Week was drawing to a close.
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ALEA confirmed that 12 of the 16 injured sustained gunshot wounds, while four others were hurt by non-gunfire-related injuries.
The university released a statement confirming that parents of the deceased had been notified, and that injured students were being treated at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery.
Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley confirmed that an autopsy for the deceased would take place at the state forensic center in Montgomery.
The city’s police chief, Patrick Mardis, reported that among the injured were a female student who was shot in the stomach and a male student shot in the arm.
The incident occurred while city police were investigating an unrelated double shooting off-campus, prompting officers to respond to the scene at Tuskegee University.
#tuskegee #tuskegeeuniversity pic.twitter.com/lUYRgi7fN4
— alyssa (@alyssa70953495) November 10, 2024
Chief Mardis described a chaotic scene, noting the difficulties emergency responders faced in accessing the area due to the large crowd. “Some idiots started shooting,” Mardis told Al.com. “You couldn’t get the emergency vehicles in there, there were so many people there.”
Tuskegee University’s campus was deeply shaken by the incident, as confirmed by student government president Amare’ Hardee, a senior from Tallahassee, Florida.
Speaking at the university’s homecoming convocation on Sunday, Hardee addressed the community’s grief, stating, “This senseless act of violence has touched each of us, whether directly or indirectly.”
During the same convocation, the Rev. James Quincy III, a pastor with the Tuskegee National Alumni Association, reminded the community of the importance of faith in difficult times. “It is in moments like these that we need to be reminded not to stand on our own understanding because in a moment like this, I don’t have understanding,” Quincy said.
He encouraged the Tuskegee community to find resilience and unity amid the tragedy.
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama, Tuskegee’s opponent in Saturday’s homecoming football game, extended condolences in a public statement. “Today, our hearts are with the Tuskegee family as they face the tragic aftermath of the recent shooting on campus,” the statement read. “We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted and pray for healing and justice.”
Check on your people at Tuskegee🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/AiHUa0iYcN
— HBCUshaderoom (@hbcushaderoom) November 10, 2024
This shooting follows a similar incident from September 2023, when four individuals were injured during a shooting at another Tuskegee University housing complex.
In that incident, two visitors were shot, while two students sustained injuries while attempting to flee the scene of an unauthorized party, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
Tuskegee University, with an enrollment of around 3,000 students, is located about 40 miles east of Alabama’s capital, Montgomery.
The university holds historical significance as the first historically Black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966 and was later recognized as a National Historic Site in 1974.
Norma Clayton, chair of the Tuskegee University Board of Trustees, addressed the campus community at the Sunday morning service, saying, “We will get through this together because in tough times, tough people band together and they survive.”
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation, and agents are working to piece together the events leading up to the shooting.
In their statement, they affirmed that “Special Agents are still in the process of gathering and examining information relative to the sequence of events which ultimately led to the shooting.” Further details have yet to be released.
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one thing we know about the shooters for sure: they’re all democrats.
the idiots are the one with out guns
Who knew that a homecoming at a TBC included a re-enactment of Fallujah?
Lets see if the ABI can earn their $ here. We need us some law and order up in this place. Hopefully it starts on 1/25/25. This country needs an enema bad.