Tuskegee University in Alabama went through a shooting on Sunday morning in the last days of its 100th Homecoming event. “The incident left one dead and 16 others injured, twelve with gunshots. The incident has shaken the university community and is currently under investigation by multiple agencies.”
Events of the Shooting
The incident occurred in the West Commons on-campus apartments as Homecoming events at the university were wrapping up. Violence struck in the wee hours of Sunday morning saw students and alumni in utter shock. Police reached the spot soon after and found one victim, an 18-year-old male, dead. However, the victim was not a student from that university, but some of the injured persons were identified as being students.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said 25-year-old Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery was taken into custody at the scene. Myrick had a handgun with a machine gun conversion device on him. Myrick has since been charged with federal possession of a machine gun, but investigators have not indicated thus far that he used the weapon during the shooting. Officials released no information about how Myrick was related to the university. So many questions remain unanswered.
The shooting drew an outpouring of grief and support from the community at Tuskegee.
A Community in Shock
The incident sent shockwaves down the campus, and the university decided to call off classes this Monday to give students some time to cope with the tragedy. Grief counselors were available for counseling at the university’s chapel. Tuskegee University was always a beaming institution of pride to the local community and then to its students now it faces the painful aftermath of this unexpected tragedy.
Amare’ Hardee, senior at Tuskegee and president of the student government association, expressed the emotional aftermath of the shooting. “This senseless act of violence has touched each of us, whether directly or indirectly,” he said during Sunday morning’s homecoming convocation. For many students, the shooting was as if someone had struck their close-knit university family.
It is a university with deep historical significance as a major institution for African American education. The college, founded in 1881, became the first historically Black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966. Because of that century-long history as a beacon for the achievements of African Americans, the violence shocked many from the university’s family and left many people wondering what had gone wrong.
Investigation and Response
Since the incident shooting, investigations joined the long list of law enforcement agencies: the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The police have begged the public for information or videos that could help piece together what happened. The university community and law enforcement are working together to piece together the details of the shooting.
Local police described the scene of the shooting as chaotic, where there were too many people around the apartments such that emergency responders could not get into the scene. According to Tuskegee City Police Chief Patrick Mardis, the scene was “uncontrollable” as it quickly became overcome with people trying to get away from the area, and others were just trying to see what was going on. He said it was a tense, emotional scene outside.
While this represents the first deadly shooting at the university in recent memory, this is not the first time violence has touched the campus. A September 2023 shooting at a student housing complex at Tuskegee University injured four people. Two were students; two others were visitors to the campus. The 2023 shooting was related to an “unauthorized party, against Campus Safety and Security. But the shooting Sunday morning has been the most tragic and serious case in recent years to happen at the campus.
Community Responses
Many entities have stood in solidarity with Tuskegee University in light of the tragedy. Miles College, an HBCU located in Fairfield, Ala., wrote a heartfelt message of condolence to the university. “Today our hearts go out to the Tuskegee family as they navigate the tragic aftermath of the recent shooting on campus. We offer our sincerest condolences to all those who have been touched and pray for healing and justice,” it said.
The chairwoman of Tuskegee University’s board of trustees, Norma Clayton, was on campus Sunday morning speaking to comfort and solidarity. “We will get through this together because in tough times, tough people band together and they survive,” she said. Resiliency was the overwhelming theme expressed by many on campus as members of the university community tried to come to grips with the loss and find a way to recover.
