Authorities are on the lookout for additional individuals involved in a shooting at Virginia State University that left five people injured. Investigators are currently assessing whether these individuals acted as aggressors or if they were responding in self-defense.
This update comes as a 19-year-old suspect, not enrolled at the university, is being held without bail. Virginia State University President Makola Abdullah addressed the community on Sunday evening, ensuring them of ongoing investigations and the university’s full cooperation with law enforcement agencies at all levels.
In response to the incident, there will be an increased police presence on campus to ensure safety while the investigation remains active.
Early Saturday morning, a shooting at Virginia State University led to the arrest of 19-year-old Camron Harris of Henrico. Authorities found him concealing himself in a closet within Seward Hall, a residence on campus, around 4 p.m. Saturday—more than 14 hours post-shooting and following the lifting of a campus lockdown. (WWBT via AP; Chesterfield County Police Department)
The number of additional shooters involved remains unclear, as their identities have not been disclosed. However, Lt. James Lamb, commander of the Chesterfield County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit, confirmed that detectives are working diligently to identify these individuals and understand their involvement in the incident.
“We don’t have specific locations that we are looking [at] yet as we are working on identifying them,” Lamb told AP in an email.
Virginia State University is a historically Black university located 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.
The victims ranged in age from 17 to 23 and only one of them – a male, 20, with non‑life‑threatening injuries – was a student at the university, according to police. A non-student male, 21, sustained critical injuries, while a male, 23; female, 19; and male, 17, have non‑life‑threatening injuries.
The shooting erupted at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday near the university’s Quad Annexes residential area. Virginia State University police and Chesterfield County officers responding to the scene found five people suffering from gunshot wounds outside campus residence halls. The shooting prompted a lockdown that was later lifted after authorities said there was no immediate threat to the campus community.
Police later arrested Camron Harris, 19, of Henrico, after officers found him hiding in a closet inside Seward Hall, a campus residence hall, at about 4 p.m. Saturday — more than 14 hours after the shooting and several hours after the lockdown had been lifted.
Harris, who police said is not a Virginia State student, faces four counts of malicious wounding and four counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was being held without bond at the Chesterfield County jail and was due in state court Monday.
The 20-year-old Virginia State University student was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released from the hospital. A 21-year-old man remained in critical condition, while the other victims were expected to recover, according to police and university officials.
This Nov. 12, 2023 file photo shows the campus of Virginia State University. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
In his Sunday night message, Abdullah said “the investigation remains ongoing” and thanked university police as well as the other law enforcement agencies assisting in the case. He acknowledged the concern the shooting had caused among parents and families and said student and campus safety remained among the university’s highest priorities.
Virginia State remains a “strong and resilient community,” his statement concluded.