A suspect was arrested after an early Sunday morning shooting incident at Tuskegee University (TU) in east-central Alabama claimed a life and left 16 others injured, state authorities said.
Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery was leaving the scene of the shooting on TU’s campus while carrying a handgun with a machine gun conversion device before being apprehended, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) said. Myrick faces a federal charge of Possession of a Machine Gun, ALEA added. ALEA’s Special Agents reportedly learned of the shooting at about 1:40 a.m.
An 18-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while the 16 who were injured were taken to area hospitals, according to the outlet. Twelve of those 16 persons sustained gunshot injuries while those of the remaining four were attributed to other causes, ALEA added.
While ALEA did not name the deceased, the Macon County coroner identified the victim to CBS News as La’Tavion Johnson.
The shooting occurred on the final day of TU’s centennial Homecoming week. (RELATED: 1 Dead, 1 Injured After Altercation On University Campus Escalated To Double Shooting, Campus Lockdown)
ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is leading the investigation into the incident, authorities noted.
The deceased was not affiliated with TU, the university said. Some of the injured, however, were TU students, according to a statement by the university.
The university also said it notified the parents of the deceased and was working on accounting for its students and notifying their parents.
The university’s Charter Day Convocation— the final event on the homecoming schedule — took place at the University Chapel as scheduled.
University President Dr. Mark Brown led the attendees in observing a moment of silence “as we reflect on the lost soul and the parents, family members, and friends that grieve.”
“My heart is very heavy this morning. But while I am with a heavy heart, I am also resolved in knowing that God is still on the throne and He is still in control,” TU Board of Trustees Chair Norma Clayton told the audience.
Clayton also offered her condolences. “In tough times, tough people band together and they survive. And we’ve been surviving for 143 years. I think we can continue to survive even more,” she added.
The “heartbreaking event” and “senseless act of violence” occurred around the West Commons, one of the university’s student apartments, TU Student Government Association President Amare’ Hardee told attendees. “Yet as we come together in the spirit of Mother Tuskegee, we are reminded of the resilience that has always defined our community,” he added.
TU counselors will be available Monday at the chapel as all Monday classes are canceled, university officials announced.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
