Tuskegee (US), Nov 10 (AP) Homecoming Week at Tuskegee University in Alabama was marred early Sunday by a shooting that left one person dead, school officials said.
The victim of the shooting was not a university student, but some of those who were injured were. No arrests were announced as of Sunday morning.
“The parents of this individual have been notified. Several others including Tuskegee University students were injured and are receiving treatment at East Alabama Medical Centre in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery,” the statement said.
An autopsy on the person killed, who is a male, is planned at the state's forensic centre in Montgomery, Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley told The Associated Press on Sunday. He said he wasn't certain of the number of people injured, but believed it was 10 or less.
The city's police chief, Patrick Mardis, said the injured included a female student who was shot in the stomach and a male student who was shot in the arm.
"Some idiots started shooting,” Mardis told the news site Al.com. “You couldn't get the emergency vehicles in there, there were so many people there.”
The shooting occurred on campus and happened as the historically Black university's 100th Homecoming Week was winding down.
“The university is in the process of completing student accountability and notifying parents,” the statement said.
At the school's homecoming convocation Sunday morning, a pastor who leads its national alumni association said the shooting is a reminder of the fragility of life.
“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,” said the Rev. James Quincy III, president of the Tuskegee National Alumni Association.
“I can only rely on my faith, and my prayer for our entire family, this community, as we close out this marvelous family reunion that we shared this week, remind us of our faith, of the importance of our faith walk, and most importantly because of that faith walk and that trust in God, that we have resilience, resilience in the time of trouble.”
In his 37 years as coroner, Bentley said he can't recall any shootings during the school's past homecoming celebrations. The mood around the small town of around 9,000 people was sombre Sunday morning.
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama — the school's opponent for Tuskegee's homecoming football game on Saturday — released a statement on Sunday expressing sympathy.
“Today, our hearts are with the Tuskegee family as they face the tragic aftermath of the recent shooting on campus,” the college said. “We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted and pray for healing and justice. Miles College stands with you in this difficult time.”
A person who answered the phone at the office of Tuskegee's police chief said no other information was available.
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
“Special Agents are still in the process of gathering and examining information relative to the sequence of events which ultimately led to the shooting,” the agency said in a statement.
Sunday's shooting comes just over a year after four people were injured in a shooting at a Tuskegee University student housing complex. In that shooting, two visitors to the campus were shot and two students were hurt while trying to leave the scene of what campus officials described as an “unauthorised party” in September 2023, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
About 3,000 students are enrolled at the university about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Alabama's capital city of Montgomery.
The university was the first historically Black college to be designated as a Registered National Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Site in 1974, according to the school's website. (AP) PY
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