A terrifying burst of gunfire shattered the early-morning quiet at Virginia State University on Saturday, leaving five people wounded and sending the campus into lockdown as police hunted for those responsible.
The shooting erupted near the Quad Annexes on the Chesterfield County campus at around 1:30 a.m., according to authorities.
Investigators believe several gunmen may have opened fire during the violent incident, WTVR reported, citing the Chesterfield County Police Department.
Five people were rushed to area hospitals with gunshot wounds. One victim was listed in critical condition, police said.
As officers flooded the campus, Virginia State University warned students and staff to stay away from the shooting scene.
“The campus community should continue to avoid the area and follow all law enforcement instructions,” the university said in a safety alert.
Virginia State University police and Chesterfield County authorities are now working together to determine exactly what sparked the shooting and identify everyone involved.
Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the campus to assist with the investigation.
No arrests had been announced, and authorities had not released additional details about the suspected shooters or what may have led to the gunfire.
The violence came at the start of what should have been an exciting weekend for the university.
Just hours earlier, Virginia State welcomed roughly 1,500 freshmen during an event Friday night featuring an appearance and speech by former NFL MVP Cam Newton.
Virginia State University, a historically Black university located about 24 miles south of Richmond, was preparing to begin classes Monday.
Instead, students woke Saturday to a heavy police presence, an active investigation and disturbing questions about how gunfire erupted in the heart of their campus.
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In my opinion, this is another red flag event to create more Gun laws which are against the constitution! The ones who were in initialing dating these are the left or the a.k.a. Marxist Democrat party. They have plenty of allies in the 17 agencies that will commit these kind of crimes with no problem. their goal is one thing that disarm Mente of the people of which the second amendment was written to protect us from these people who are attempting to take our gun rights away. When our gun rights are gone, you have no defense on them, stealing the rest of the nine amendments. The constitution is there to protect us from government. When government disobey the laws, the rules and the constitution of the people, the founding father said it’s the duty of the people to take their country back!