Morgan State University shooting victims were likely 'unintended targets'; suspects still at large

Authorities on Wednesday said that two people opened fire during a dispute between two groups at Morgan State University homecoming events, but the five shooting victims were likely not the shooters' intended targets.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said in a news briefing that the shooting Tuesday night seems to have stemmed from a dispute between two small groups. He said two armed suspects targeted another person, who was not struck by gunfire. The five wounded victims, who are expected to recover, Worley said, are believed to be “unintended targets.”

At least two people opened fire, and a third person pulled a gun, though it is unclear whether that person pulled the trigger, Worley said. He said ballistics testing will determine how many shooters were involved.

The suspects are still being sought.

All other homecoming events and classes were canceled for the remainder of the week, including Saturday’s football game, university President David Wilson announced Wednesday afternoon. Wilson said the regrettable decision marked “the very first time in Morgan’s history” that such events were canceled. Some students were seen leaving campus with duffel bags and suitcases Wednesday afternoon.

“Today, we unfortunately find ourselves navigating this tragic event during a time at which we should be celebrating,” Wilson said in a letter to the university community.

Student 'really shaken scared' after shooting

Nikia Reed was at home watching a movie Tuesday night when she began receiving texts asking whether her daughter was safe. "My heart sunk when I saw those messages," she told USA TODAY.

Her daughter, Melody Cole, is a freshman at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Cole had just stepped into her room to get ready for another homecoming week party when the campus was put under a lockdown that lasted for several hours. Within minutes Cole called her mother to tell her she was safe in her room as police began to comb a neighboring dorm building after the shooting erupted.

“She was really shaken scared,” Reed, 43, said, adding she remained on the phone with her daughter throughout the night. “I was devastated because I just couldn't believe what was going on. At that moment, I just wanted to just bring her home and just keep her here."

"It's sad that we send our kids to school to get an education and they can't even feel safe going there," Reed said.

Gunfire rang out amid homecoming week celebrations

The incident happened at around 9:25 p.m. and victims were found "within minutes," Worley said. The victims, all 18-22 years old, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

When officers heard gunshots and discovered dorm windows shattered, police initially thought there was an active shooter on campus and issued a shelter-in-place order. SWAT officers cleared a dorm building where investigators believed a suspect may have been hiding, but none were found.

The incident occurred just after the coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State at the Murphy Fine Arts Center as students were heading to a campus ball. The event, which draws parents from around the country to celebrate students and their achievements, packed the campus auditorium nearly to capacity, said MSU President David Wilson at a news conference.

"This was an unbelievably beautiful event this evening," Wilson said. "Our students at the end of (the event) were headed over to the student center to rejoice and enjoy themselves when this unfortunate situation erupted on the campus."

Konnor Crowder, a sophomore from Baltimore, told the Associated Press he and his friends had been waiting for the coronation ball to start when they saw people running.

“First, I was wondering what they were running for," he said, "then I was wondering where we should go."

Baltimore mayor says gun violence needs to be dealt with 'nationally'

Morgan State University is a public historically black university, or HBCU, in Baltimore. It is the largest HBCU in the state and the campus is located in a residential area of northeast Baltimore. The university reported an enrollment of more than 9,000 students as of late 2022.

At a news conference, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott noted recent declines in the city’s homicide rate and said the shooting Tuesday indicates a need for national gun reform.

“We have to deal with this issue nationally,” he said. “We have to get serious about guns.”

There have been at least 531 mass shootings in the United States with at least four victims since Jan. 1, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit publicly sourced database that defines a mass shooting as at least four people struck by gunfire, not including the shooter. Over a dozen shootings occurred at colleges or universities this year.

Kris Brown, the president of Brady, a gun control advocacy nonprofit, in a statement said, “The horror and trauma of a mass shooting is unfortunately not a new experience for many of America’s youth," adding: "This is especially true for Black youth."

"It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that this shooting took place during homecoming week for a generation that has been raised on school shooting drills and mass shootings," Brown said. "Our hearts go out to the victims and families of this senseless shooting.”

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press;

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Morgan State University shooting victims were 'unintended targets'