As REVOLT previously reported, a shooting unfolded at Tuskegee University on Sunday (Nov. 10), leaving one person dead and several others injured. USA Today revealed that 25-year-old Montgomery, Alabama, resident Jaquez Myrick was arrested in connection with the incident on a federal charge of possessing a machine gun. Myrick was reportedly spotted leaving the scene and was found with a firearm outfitted with a machine gun conversion device, according to a spokesperson from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The rampage occurred during the university’s 100th homecoming celebrations. “The person killed was not associated with the private, historically Black university,” said the institution’s spokesperson, Kawana McGough, though she confirmed that Tuskegee students were among the injured and receiving treatment at different hospitals.
According to ALEA, an 18-year-old was identified as the single fatality, 12 others were shot and four additional people sustained injuries unrelated to gunfire. Authorities were alerted about the shooting at around 1:40 a.m. and initially suspected multiple shooters due to the scale of the chaos. “Some idiots started shooting. You couldn’t get the emergency vehicles in there, there were so many people there,” stated Interim Tuskegee Police Chief Patrick Mardis. He then admitted that a mass shooting was always a worry. “I was always on pins and needles when I was there," he said, adding, “You see it happen everywhere.”
State Representative Phillip Ensler expressed his dismay, stating he was “shaken” by the shooting and commending first responders for their actions. “May we all do everything that we can in Alabama to fight the evil that is gun violence and work to save lives,” he urged. Meanwhile, newly elected Congressman Shomari Figures echoed those sentiments and stressed how gun violence “is ripping apart too many communities and taking far too many lives.” “We must all work collectively to put an end to this,” he added.
Tuskegee University canceled classes on Monday (Nov. 11) and arranged grief counseling for students. McGough noted that the university was contacting the families of those injured to keep them informed.