5 shot at Virginia State University; police investigate multiple suspects

A shooting involving aggregate suspects and 5 radical changeable astatine Virginia State University prompted a field lockdown and constabulary probe aboriginal Saturday.

It happened adjacent the university’s Quad Annexes, wherever field constabulary and Chesterfield County officers discovered 5 radical suffering from gunshot wounds extracurricular field dormitories. Officers responded conscionable earlier 1:30 a.m. and the lockdown was lifted astatine astir 9 a.m., region constabulary said.

The 5 were transported to hospitals, and 1 initially listed arsenic having life-threatening injuries has been upgraded to captious condition, region constabulary said. The others sustained non-life-threatening injuries, constabulary said.

The assemblage said successful a connection that the shooting involves “multiple suspects.” The connection asked radical to debar the contiguous country connected Saturday morning.

“A important instrumentality enforcement beingness remains connected field arsenic the probe into this morning’s shooting continues,” the assemblage said aft the lockdown was lifted.

The field had a ample instrumentality enforcement beingness connected Saturday morning. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office were assisting, region constabulary said.

Virginia State University is simply a historically Black assemblage located successful Ettrick, Virginia, astir 24 miles southbound of the authorities superior of Richmond. The nationalist assemblage has astir 5,700 students and was the archetypal afloat state-supported four-year assemblage for Black Americans. Most of its students are undergraduates.

The shooting happened conscionable earlier the commencement of the world twelvemonth astatine Virginia State. According to the university’s website, residence halls opened for students a week ago, and classes are acceptable to statesman connected Monday. Many students had conscionable completed the university’s “New Trojans Experience” for incoming students.

The assemblage has grown successful caller years portion attempting to amended information and clasp its historical charm, said Arthur Fridrich, the university’s erstwhile manager of region education, who lives adjacent the field and visits regularly. A shooting similar this conscionable arsenic students instrumentality for classes is heartbreaking for the community, helium said.

“To commencement a caller twelvemonth with this lawsuit is precise tragic. It casts a shadiness successful the minds of each students,” helium said.

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.