Shooting at a North Carolina HBCU leaves one dead, 6 injured

A shooting at Elizabeth City State University has claimed the life of one person and left six people injured.

Details: Elizabeth City State University shooting

The shooting at the North Carolina HBCU happened Sunday, April 27, about 12:30 a.m. following the university’s Yard Fest event.

Yard Fest is a school spirit event that is part of the university’s weeklong Viking Fest celebration, according to a statement from the university.

Victims

The university said a 24-year-old man identified as Isaiah Caldwell of Albany, New York, who was not a student, died during the shooting.

Caldwell was often a visitor of the campus and was reportedly mingling with Groove Phi Groove fraternity.

“Isaiah was a remarkable brother who always sought the positive in every situation,” Groove Phi Groove said to Spectrum News. “He was a pillar of support for many brothers and a mentor to others.”

Four other people were shot and injured, three of them ECSU students, and two other students were injured during the commotion. University officials said all of these injuries weren’t life threatening and each victim was taken to a local hospital.

The shooting prompted a campus lockdown, and the university issued a shelter-in-place order for all students. The lockdown was later lifted, and the school said it increased police patrols across campus as a precaution.

Classes were canceled through Tuesday and will be remote for the rest of the semester, which ends Friday, officials said.

So far, no charges or arrests have been announced after the incident.

Investigation

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s help in the investigation and has urged anyone with information, videos, or pictures of the event to contact the agency or the Elizabeth City State University Police Department.

Elizabeth City State University is a public, historically Black university in Elizabeth City, about 26 miles south of the North Carolina and Virginia state border.