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Multiple people were injured in a shooting involving multiple suspects at Virginia State University, prompting a temporary campus lockdown early Saturday just days before the new academic year was set to begin.
The shooting happened around 1:30 a.m outside a university residence hall, and both campus police and the Chesterfield County Police Department are investigating, a university statement said. When police arrived, they found five people suffering from gunshot wounds.
Lt. James R. Lamb, with the Chesterfield County Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Major Crimes Unit, said officials have only confirmed one victim was a student. Investigators believe the other victims may be from the surrounding communities, Lamb told CBS News. He said the incident was not a drive-by shooting, and police are searching for multiple shooters.
The victims were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. One person is currently in critical condition, while the remaining four sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, the university said.
Police and university officials have not identified any of the victims nor said if they are connected to the university.
School officials said a “significant law enforcement presence remains on campus” as police continues its investigation. It was not immediately clear if any suspects had been arrested.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office were assisting, county police said.
Virginia State University is a historically Black university in Ettrick, Virginia, about 24 miles south of the state capital of Richmond. The public university has about 5,700 students and was the first fully state-supported four-year college for Black Americans. Classes for the new academic year were set to begin on Monday, CBS News affiliate WTVR reported.
According to the university’s website, residence halls opened for students a week ago, and classes are set to begin on Monday. Many students had just completed the university’s “New Trojans Experience” for incoming students.
Arthur Fridrich, the university’s former director of distance education who lives near the campus and visits regularly, told the Associated Press that a shooting just before students return to class is heartbreaking for the community.
“To start a new year with this event is very tragic. It casts a shadow in the minds of all students, and for some it will be difficult to rid their minds of this term,” Fridrich said. “For those that were shot, my heart bleeds. I hope that they all mend and somehow do not let this event define their lives.”
