Five people were injured Tuesday in a shooting at Morgan State University in Baltimore, police said, an attack that marred homecoming celebrations at the historically Black college.
None of the victims had life-threatening wounds, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a news conference early Wednesday. The four men and one woman are between the ages of 18 and 22.
Morgan State Police Chief Lance Hatcher said four of the victims were students at the university, according to the Associated Press.
Authorities did not announce any arrests or indications of a suspect.
Classes at Morgan State were canceled for Wednesday.
Around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Baltimore police said on social media that they were responding to an active-shooter situation at the campus on Argonne Drive.
About 40 minutes later, police confirmed there were “multiple victims involved” and advised people in the area to shelter in place, an order that lasted about two hours. Concerned family members who came to the area were told to avoid the campus and report to a nearby Safeway supermarket.
Baltimore City Councilmember Ryan Dorsey posted on X that police “believed there were three shooters firing into [a] crowd, none apprehended or ID’d at this time.”
Councilmember Odette Ramos told a local news station she was “horrified” for students upon hearing about the shooting but said that those injured were “going to be OK.” Ramos noted that the shooting occurred amid activities leading up to homecoming.
Those activities included the Mister & Miss Morgan State pageant, which chooses representatives to serve as “ambassadors” for the university.
The school advised people to stay away from the areas near the school’s Thurgood Marshall Hall and the Murphy Fine Arts Center, where that event was taking place. Dozens of students in gowns and suits sheltered there during the incident, the Associated Press reported. Not long after midnight, dozens dressed in gowns and suits began exiting the arts center, many appearing stunned.
Konnor Crowder, a sophomore from Baltimore, said he and his friends had been waiting for the coronation ball to start when they saw people running across the campus.
“First I was wondering what they were running for; then I was wondering where we should go,” he said.
At the scene Tuesday night, a police helicopter circled overhead, the AP reported.
Glenmore Blackwood, father of a Morgan State senior, arrived at the campus after his son told him what had occurred and that he was sheltering in place in the arts center’s auditorium.
“That’s my son. He’s going to make sure I know he’s OK,” Blackwood said.
Special agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting police, according to the Baltimore Banner.
The school has a population of about 9,000 students, including more than 7,600 undergraduates.