Shooting at Tuskegee University leaves one dead

TUSKEGE, Ala. (AP) — A shooting early Sunday during homecoming week at Tuskegee University in Alabama left one person dead, school officials said.

The victim of the shooting was not a college student, but some of those injured were.

“The individual’s parents have been notified. Several others, including a Tuskegee University student, were injured and are being treated at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery,” the statement said.

The city’s police chief, Patrick Madis, said the injured included a female student who was shot in the abdomen and a male student who was shot in the arm.

“Some idiots started shooting. You couldn’t get emergency vehicles in there, there were too many people there,” Maddis told news site Al.com.

The shooting occurred on campus near the end of the historically black university’s 100th homecoming week.

“The school is fulfilling its responsibility to students and notifying parents,” the statement said.

Miles College in Fairfield, Ala., the school’s opponent in Saturday’s Tuskegee homecoming football game, issued a statement Sunday expressing sympathy.

“Our hearts go out to the Tuskegee family today as they face the tragic aftermath of the recent school shooting,” the college said. “We offer our deepest condolences to those affected and pray for their recovery and justice. Myers College stands with you during this difficult time.”

A caller at the Tuskegee Police Chief’s Office said no other information was available.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

Sunday’s shooting came more than a year after a shooting at a Tuskegee University student dormitory left four people injured. In a September 2023 shooting, two campus visitors were shot and two students were injured while trying to leave the scene of what campus officials called an “unauthorized party,” the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

The university, located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Montgomery, Alabama, has about 3,000 students enrolled.

The university was the first historically black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966. The university was also designated a national historic site in 1974, according to the school’s website.