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A 25-year-old man who was found with a weapon when he left the scene of a shooting at Tuskegee University in Alabama early Sunday has been arrested and charged with a federal offense, authorities said.
A statement released by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the man in custody as Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery and said he was found in possession of a pistol with a machine gun conversion device. He faces federal charges of possession of a machine gun.
It was not immediately known if Myrick had an attorney available to speak for him, and the statement did not say whether Myrick was a student at Tuskegee University, where the shooting happened on Sunday, as it was the black university’s 100th Homecoming Week.
The shooting killed one person and injured 16 others, 12 of whom were wounded by gunfire. Authorities say the 18-year-old man who died was not a university student. But some of the injured were students.
THIS IS A NEWS UPDATE. Previous AP story below.
ATLANTA (AP) – A shooting early Sunday at Tuskegee University in Alabama left one person dead and 16 others wounded, 12 of whom were wounded by gunfire, authorities said.
The shooting victim, an 18-year-old man, was not a student, but several were injured. No arrests were immediately announced.
Twelve people were injured by gunfire, and four others sustained injuries not related to gunshots, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in an update Sunday afternoon. His condition was not immediately released.
The FBI is joining the investigation and says it is asking for tips from the public, as well as video witnesses. It sets up an online site for people to upload videos.
The shooting occurred as Black University’s historic 100th Homecoming Week ended. Tuskegee University announced that Monday’s classes have been canceled. Grief counselors will be available to assist students in the university chapel.
The victim’s parents were notified, and some of the injured were treated at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery, the university said in a statement.
An autopsy on the 18-year-old is planned at the state forensic center in Montgomery, Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Tuskegee Police Chief Patrick Mardis said the injured included a female student who was shot in the abdomen and a male student who was shot in the arm.
City police responded to a second unrelated shooting on campus when officers got a call about a university shooting at the West Commons apartments on campus, Mardis said.
“Some idiots started shooting,” Mardis told news site Al.com. “You can’t take an emergency vehicle there, there are so many people there.”
A person who answered the phone at the Tuskegee police chief’s office said no other information was available.
“Special agents are still in the process of gathering and reviewing information about the sequence of events that ultimately led to the shooting,” the state law enforcement agency said in a statement.
In his 37 years as a coroner, Bentley said he can’t remember any shootings during homecoming celebrations. The atmosphere around the small town of 9,000 people is somber, he said.
The shooting has shaken everyone in the university community, said Amare’ Hardee, a senior from Tallahassee, Florida, who is president of the student government association.
“This senseless act of violence has shocked each and every one of us, directly or indirectly,” he said at a school assembly on Sunday morning.
A pastor who leads the Tuskegee National Alumni Association told those at Sunday’s convocation service that the shooting was a reminder of the fragility of life.
“At a time like this, we have to remind ourselves not to stand on our own understanding because at a time like this, I have no understanding,” said Reverend James Quincy III.
“I can only rely on my faith, and my prayers for all the families, this community, as we close the wonderful family reunion that we shared this week,” said Quincy, “and most importantly because of that faith and trust. in God, so we have perseverance, perseverance in times of trouble.”
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama — the school’s opponent for Tuesday’s Tuskegee homecoming football game — released a statement expressing sympathy.
“Today, our hearts go out to the Tuskegee family as they face the tragic aftermath of the shooting on campus,” the college said. “We offer our deepest condolences to those affected and pray for healing and justice. Miles College stands with you at this difficult time.
Sunday’s shooting comes just over a year after four people were wounded in a shooting at a Tuskegee University student housing complex. In the shooting, two visitors to the campus were shot and two students were injured as they tried to leave the scene of what campus officials described as an “unlawful party” in September 2023, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
About 3,000 students attend the university about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Alabama’s capital city of Montgomery.
The university was the first historically black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Site in 1974, according to the school’s website.
Norma Clayton, chairwoman of the board of trustees, said at the Sunday morning service that “we will overcome this together because in difficult times, difficult people come together and survive.”
