The Baltimore Police Department published surveillance footage showing a group of people walking in a grassy area of Morgan State University’s campus. From the video, it’s difficult to determine whether they are armed. However, the authorities are certain there was more than one shooter.
“We know that there was more than one person with a weapon. The problem is, the ballistics has to tell us how many guns were shot,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley in a press conference.
Worley also said the shooting seemed to be the result of an argument between two groups of people. The presumed target of the shooting was not hit. Rather, the four men and one woman who were injured were caught in the crossfire.
As far as campus activities, the university canceled most of the Homecoming events scheduled for this week with the exception of the football game and gala that have been postponed. The much anticipated concert and parade have been canceled as well as classes for the week.
Anyone with information on the potential suspects can call the police at 410-396-2444 or contact Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP.
What Happened?
Gunfire erupted ahead of a homecoming event at Morgan State University Tuesday night. Authorities say four students and another person suffered injuries. The campus was put on lockdown, displacing many students from their dorms to shelter in place.
The shooting happened outside the coronation of Mister and Miss Morgan State held at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, per The Associated Press. As students headed to the coronation ball, they heard gunfire and began running across the campus. Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the police responded to the report of the shooting around 9:25 p.m. Upon their arrival, they heard the shattering of windows from a residence hall and believed there was still an active shooter. A shelter-in-place was issued and lifted at 12:30 a.m. after SWAT team cleared a building where they believed the suspect had fled to.
At the moment, no arrests have been made and there is no information about the alleged shooter or shooters.
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The victims – four men and one woman, ages 18 to 22 – were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Worley said. Four are students, Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher said.
At Morgan State, classes are canceled Wednesday and counselors will be available to students, school President David Wilson said. “We will be assessing what will happen for the rest of the homecoming week as early as tomorrow morning,” he added.
Police warned the campus community to stay clear of the area surrounding Thurgood Marshall Hall and the Murphy Fine Arts Center. The Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is helping police search for shell casings and additional evidence, it said.
Some parents rushed to the campus to check on their children. “You wanna come to university and feel safe … but things happen and it’s unfortunate that this has to happen with students,” said one student to WBAL.
This incident comes after a year-long investigation into over fifty racially motivated threats of violence toward HBCUs all over the country. Morgan was targeted with a bomb threat in February of last year, resulting in a shelter-in-place and remote instruction to keep students inside.