Five shot outside dorms at Virginia State University days before classes begin
Five people were shot and wounded, one critically, outside of residence halls at Virginia State University early Saturday, officials said.
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No arrests were announced, and the university earlier reported “multiple suspects” in the shooting that occurred at around 1:28 a.m.
The shootings at the campus in Ettrick, Virginia, prompted a campuswide lockdown. The university said at around 8:20 a.m. that the lockdown had been lifted but there would be a large police presence on campus.
The shooting happened in the area of the Quad Annexes, Virginia State University police said.
All five who were shot were taken to area hospitals, the university said.
“One individual is currently in critical condition,” the university said in a statement. The other four suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, it said.
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The Chesterfield County Police Department is leading the investigation, the university said, with assistance from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.
The Virginia State Police deferred questions to local police, who they said are leading the investigation. County police and campus officials said there would be more information later in the day.
Virginia State University is a historically Black university located in Ettrick, 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. Most of its students are undergraduates.
The shootings happened just before the start of the academic year at Virginia State. According to the university’s website, residence halls opened for students a week ago, and classes are set to begin on Monday. Many students had just completed the university’s “New Trojans Experience” for incoming students.
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