Police apprehended a 19-year-old individual discovered hiding in a dormitory closet at Virginia State University on Saturday in connection with an overnight shooting on campus that resulted in five individuals sustaining injuries, one of which is critical. Camron Harris, a resident of Henrico, Virginia, is not enrolled as a student at the university, and neither were four of the injured persons, as confirmed by Chesterfield County Police. The age range of the victims was between 17 and 23, with one 20-year-old student now discharged from the hospital. The identities of the victims have not been disclosed.
Law enforcement has not disclosed a potential motive for the incident. Harris faces eight felony warrants, including charges for malicious wounding and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. It remains unclear if he has legal representation.
Earlier, the university mentioned that authorities were searching for multiple suspects, but no new information was provided by the police on Saturday evening regarding the search. Despite a campus lockdown being lifted, law enforcement officials reassured that there was no immediate threat to the campus community.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, triggering a campus lockdown as students were preparing for the upcoming school year. The incident unfolded near the Quad Annexes of the university, where campus police and officers from Chesterfield County found five individuals with gunshot wounds outside the dormitories.
Residence halls were opened for students a week ago, according to the university’s website, with classes set to resume on Monday. As many students had recently completed the university’s “New Trojans Experience” for new arrivals, the university expressed understanding of the anxiety caused by the incident among students, parents, alumni, and the wider VSU community.
Virginia State University, a historically Black institution situated in Ettrick, Virginia, approximately 40 kilometers south of Richmond, the state capital, has around 5,700 students and a predominantly undergraduate population. The university, the first fully state-supported four-year college for Black Americans, has been expanding while prioritizing safety and preserving its historic allure.
Arthur Fridrich, the former director of distance education at the university, who resides near the campus, described the shooting as a tragic event as students prepared for the new academic year. He expressed sympathy for the victims and hoped they would recover without letting the incident define their lives.
