Virginia State University Shooting: Police Hunt Additional Gunmen After Five Wounded
Police seek additional gunmen after a shooting at Virginia State University wounded five. A 19-year-old suspect is held without bond.
Police in Virginia are searching for additional individuals who fired weapons during a shooting at Virginia State University that left five people injured. A 19-year-old suspect is in custody, but investigators believe others may have been involved in the exchange of gunfire.
Lieutenant James Lamb, commander of the Chesterfield County Police Department's Major Crimes Unit, said authorities are working to identify the other shooters. He noted that it is unclear whether these individuals acted in self-defense or were among the aggressors. Lamb did not specify how many other people are believed to have fired weapons.
The shooting occurred just after 1:30 a.m. on Saturday near the university's Quad Annexes, outside campus dormitories. Officers from both campus police and Chesterfield County responded to find five people suffering from gunshot wounds. The incident prompted a campus lockdown, which was lifted several hours later when authorities determined there was no immediate threat.
The victims, ranging in age from 17 to 23, include only one university student. The suspect, Camron Harris, 19, of Henrico, Virginia, is not a student at the university. He was found hiding in a dormitory closet and arrested more than 14 hours after the shooting.
Harris is being held without bond at the Chesterfield County jail. He faces four counts of malicious wounding and four counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. It is not yet known if he has legal representation.
The incident occurred as students were completing the university's orientation program for incoming freshmen, with classes scheduled to resume on Monday. Virginia State University is a historically Black public institution in Ettrick, Virginia, with an enrollment of approximately 5,700 students.