Multiple People Shot At Morgan State University
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BALTIMORE (Worthy News) – Morgan State University in the U.S. city of Baltimore was rocked by gunfire late Tuesday, wounding five people, but none critically, police and other sources said.
Police said it was still searching for the suspect. The shooting happened outside a dormitory building, police said. “We’re asking everyone to shelter in place and avoid the area,” police initially urged on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. About three hours later, police reported it was no longer “an active shooter situation.”
Morgan State University announced later that the “Shelter-in-Place order on campus has been lifted. All shuttle services have resumed. As more details become available, we will update our campus community via official University communication channels.”
Police had kept the campus on lockdown for hours and provided little information about their investigation. The shootings at the historically Black university occurred at the celebratory start of the university’s Homecoming week. During the week, it welcomes alumni and community members to campus for festivities such as a pep rally, gala, and parade.
Tuesday’s shootings also came during the coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, one of the areas the school urged people to avoid.
Glenmore Blackwood came to the campus after hearing from his son, a senior who told him the shooting occurred just as festivities for the coronation were concluding.
Blackwood said his son was sheltering in place in the arts center’s auditorium. He sang in the ceremony and planned to host a prayer service afterward. “That’s my son. He’s going to make sure I know he’s OK,” Blackwood told reporters.
Footage seen by Worthy News showed multiple emergency response vehicles near the taped-off student dormitory building. Witnesses saw the glass of one of the building’s upper-floor windows apparently shattered.
HELICOPTER ARRIVES
At the scene Tuesday night, officers were blocking off the south entrance to campus near dorm buildings while a police helicopter circled overhead.
Ish Sargent, 20, who lives nearby, said she and her friends came outside when they heard the helicopter. They didn’t hear gunshots. Sargent said she doesn’t usually worry about gun violence in the area.
“At a school, though, that’s crazy,” she told reporters. “People just out here shooting.”
The university reported an enrollment of more than 9,000 students as of late 2022 and said it is growing.
The shooting falls just days before a scheduled candlelight memorial service to honor university members who have died over the past year. “It’s just sad,” Blackwood said, recalling how the shooting interrupted the coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State.
“They were doing a good thing — an event to promote positivity — and all this negativity happens.”
The United States has been rocked by a series of shootings this year amid an ongoing debate about gun violence and safety issues nationwide.
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