Shootings at crowded gatherings in three college communities over the weekend left one person dead and at least 21 others injured, authorities said.
Police in Indiana, Delaware and Alabama are investigating separate incidents linked to large parties and events near college campuses, according to law enforcement agencies and university officials.
Seven people were hospitalized in Bloomington, Indiana, during Indiana University’s homecoming weekend. In Newark, Delaware, at least six people were reportedly hospitalized after a shooting near the University of Delaware. And in Birmingham, Alabama, gunfire near Legion Field following the Magic City Classic football game killed one person and wounded eight others.
People in Halloween costumes cross Main Street as police close several blocks in downtown Newark after a shooting on Halloween night Saturday. (William Bretzger/Delaware News Journal/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
In Bloomington, officers were monitoring a large crowd near Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street when they heard gunshots at about 1:30 a.m. ET, police said. Officers then saw a man carrying a firearm flee the area.
The man was arrested near Dunn Meadow. Police recovered a gun and shell casings, but said they have not determined whether the suspect fired any of the shots.
No deaths were reported in Bloomington, and investigators said they were still trying to determine whether anyone else had been injured.
A confrontation in the crowd may have occurred before the gunfire, police said. Indiana University police and Indiana State Police also responded to the scene.
A separate shooting Saturday night in Newark, Delaware, unsettled the University of Delaware community.
“We are deeply concerned about the shooting on Main Street Saturday night, which has impacted our entire community,” Peter Bothum, the university’s director of media relations, told News Media in a statement. “We are grateful to the Newark Police Department, which is leading the investigation. We will continue to communicate confirmed information, which will be shared on a dedicated alerts page (udel.edu/about/alerts) and updated as we learn more.”
University President Laura Carlson said those wounded were receiving medical care and expressed gratitude to Newark police, campus officers and other first responders who treated victims at the scene.
“I am writing to you about the shooting last night in Newark on Main Street, although it is difficult to know what to say when violence like this erupts in our community,” she wrote in an email to the school community.
“We are all impacted,” she added. “I ask that you keep the victims in your thoughts and hearts as they receive care. Please also recognize the impact and toll on our students and community members who were on Main Street last night and witnessed this violence.”
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The university did not release a confirmed victim count or say whether anyone had died. However, a report said at least six people were hospitalized. Newark police are leading the investigation, while the university directed students and employees to its alerts page for verified updates.
In Birmingham, Alabama, nine people suffered gunshot wounds shortly after 7:50 p.m. ET Saturday in the 400 block of Graymont Avenue West, police said. The shooting occurred near Legion Field after the Magic City Classic football game; one victim died and eight others were injured.
One of the wounded victims was in critical condition, while the other seven were listed as stable, authorities said.
Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett said most fans and families had already left the stadium grounds when the shooting occurred nearby, where vendors had gathered along Graymont Avenue.
“I’m very grateful that more people weren’t injured,” Pickett said.
Police spokesperson De’Rell Freeman said one person had been detained and taken to police headquarters for questioning. Investigators also recovered and secured “multiple weapons,” Freeman said.
Alabama State and Alabama A&M are historically Black universities and longtime rivals. Their annual matchup has been played for more than a century, and nearly 70,000 fans attended Saturday’s game, which Alabama A&M won 31-28. The Magic City Classic is among the biggest-attended games in the division of college football played by the two schools.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a shooting incident, in Birmingham, Alabama, Oct. 31, 2026. (Jokerta Horne via Reuters)
The Magic City Classic has such a deep history that Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson Jr., a former NFL linebacker and alumnus of the school, proposed creating a Hall of Fame for the game.
In addition to the shootings near campuses, police in Dallas say four people are dead and 15 are injured following three separate shootings in a Dallas neighborhood. Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said police are still trying to determine if the shootings were related or what led to them. Comeaux said some arrests were made, but he did not specify how many or what charges were involved.
“This is a really big scene. It’s spread out,” Comeaux said. “We are interviewing some individuals right now that we have arrested, still trying to figure out exactly how it ties into all the shootings out here.”
In Fayetteville, Arkansas, six people were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds from a shooting that happened early Sunday. No arrests have been made, police said in a news release. A preliminary investigation indicates an altercation preceded the shooting.