Indexbit Exchange:Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting

MONTGOMERY,Indexbit Exchange Ala. — Tuskegee University President Mark Brown announced Monday the Alabama campus will no longer be open to the public, a day after a shooting during homecoming weekend killed one person and injured 16 others.

Brown said the campus closure is effective immediately, and that all guests must wear visitor badges. The university has also fired its security chief and hired a replacement who will conduct a review of the shooting.

When reached by USA TODAY, a school spokesperson did not provide additional information about what prompted the replacement.

"The Tuskegee University community is heartbroken by what happened on our campus early Sunday morning," Brown said. "We offer condolences to the family of the young man who lost his life. We are providing as much support as we can to the students who were injured and their families, and are allowing all students who lived in the vicinity of the incident to relocate if they desire."

Sunday's shooting came as the private, historically Black university was celebrating its 100th homecoming weekend. Gunfire broke out on campus at an event that was not affiliated with the university, Brown said.

One person, an 18-year-old who was not affiliated with the school, was killed. Among the sixteen people who were wounded, authorities said 12 suffered gunshot injuries.

A suspect, Jaquez Myrick, 25, was arrested Sunday on a federal charge of possession of a machine gun. Authorities said he was seen leaving the scene of the shooting and found in possession of a handgun with a machine gun conversion device.

University hired over 70 officers for homecoming weekend

The university canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday. Brown said he would host town halls for the campus community to answer questions about the violence and that counseling is available to students.

Brown added that he doesn't plan to end the homecoming celebration, an integral part of HBCU tradition.

"We reunite our students with old friends," Brown said. "We celebrate our journey and how the university helped us along the way, and yes, we invest financially in the university that transformed our lives and that we all love dearly."

This year, Brown said he planned for thousands to attend the centennial festivities, and the university hired more than 70 law enforcement officers from across Alabama and Georgia. The university implemented a clear-bag policy and used weapon-sniffing dogs.

Brown noted the event where the shooting happened was not sanctioned or approved by the university, but it was on campus, and the school is taking "full responsibility for allowing a thorough investigation and implementing corrective actions."

"Students are our greatest asset, and we will do everything possible to protect them," Brown said. "Mother Tuskegee has been serving students and changing their lives for the betterment for some 143 years. We remain resolute to safely continuing that mission."

Tuskegee University was founded in 1881 in a one-room shanty by Dr. Booker T. Washington and Lewis Adams, who had been enslaved, according to the school website. The school received startup funding from the Alabama legislature and its first class had 30 students.

The school, which now has more than 3,000 students, graduates the most African American aerospace science engineers of any school in the nation, the website added.

Gunfire on college campuses

Since August, gunfire has broken out at or near college campuses in at least four states.

Last month, shots were fired near Tennessee State University following homecoming celebrations, killing one person and injuring nine others. Weeks later, the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut was locked down for hours after one person was shot during an altercation on campus, according to authorities.

In August, police arrested two 21-year-old men after four people were shot on Virginia State University's campus, all suffering non-life-threatening injuries. Police said the shooting happened just after midnight near the college's gym.

The Gun Violence Archive has tracked more than 14,600 firearm deaths and 28,000 injuries across the United States so far this year. In 2022, guns were the leading cause of death for children and teens for the third year in a row.

In Alabama alone, an average of 1,175 people die from guns each year, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Alabama has some of the weakest gun control laws in the nation, the center said, and the fourth highest firearm death rate.

Contributing: John Bacon and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's education reporter. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @gladlyalex.