VSU student charged after campus shooting suspect was found hiding in her dorm closet
After police arrested a 19-year-old found hiding in a dormitory closet at Virginia State University on Saturday in connection with a shooting on campus, a VSU student who lives in that dorm room was arrested on charges of obstruction and being an accessory.
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Ja’niah Johnson, 19, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, returned to Virginia and turned herself in on Wednesday after police contacted her, Chesterfield County police said. She appeared in court and was released on her own recognizance, police said.
The suspect found hiding in the dorm, Camron Harris of Henrico County, Virginia, is not a student on campus nor were four of the people injured, Chesterfield County Police said in a statement. They ranged in age from 17 to 23. A 21-year-old who sustained life-threatening injuries remains in critical condition.
One of the injured, a 20-year-old, is a student and was released from a hospital, authorities said. The victims’ names have not been released.
Police obtained eight felony warrants for Harris, including for malicious wounding and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Efforts to reach Harris’ family by phone were unsuccessful.
Authorities have given no information about a possible motive. A police statement didn’t give details about the connection between Johnson and Harris.
The university said in an earlier statement that authorities were searching for multiple suspects, but police provided no additional information Saturday evening about the search. University officials said earlier in the day that law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community, and a campus lockdown had been lifted.
The shooting, just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday, prompted a campus lockdown and came as students were getting ready for the new school year.
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It happened near the university’s Quad Annexes, where campus police and Chesterfield County officers discovered five people suffering from gunshot wounds outside campus dormitories.
According to the university’s website, classes were scheduled to resume on Monday. Many students had just completed the university’s “New Trojans Experience” for incoming students.
“We recognize the concern this incident has caused among our students, parents, alumni, friends, and the broader VSU community,” the university statement said. “The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority.”
The campus had a large law enforcement presence on Saturday morning, and the university informed students that they should monitor their email for additional safety measures and information about support services. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office were assisting, county police said.
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. Most of its students are undergraduates.
The university has grown in recent years while attempting to improve safety and retain its historic charm, said Arthur Fridrich, the university’s former director of distance education, who lives near the campus and visits regularly. A shooting like this just as students return for classes is heartbreaking for the community, he said.
“To start a new year with this event is very tragic. It casts a shadow in the minds of all students, and for some it will be difficult to rid their minds of this term,” Fridrich said. “For those that were shot, my heart bleeds. I hope that they all mend and somehow do not let this event define their lives.”
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