1 dead, 6 injured in shooting during homecoming at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, officials say
By Emma Tucker, Sarah Dewberry, Karina Tsui, CNN
(CNN) — At least one person was killed and six others injured in a shooting at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University Saturday night, during the historically Black university’s Homecoming weekend, according to officials.
A total of seven people were hit with gunfire after shots rang out near the school’s International Cultural Center, where Homecoming crowds were celebrating after that afternoon’s football game, authorities said at news conference early Sunday.
“That festivity was interrupted and decimated by gunfire. It was a chaotic scene, and people fled in every direction,” Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Officials did not give details on the conditions of the six injured. Multiple gunshot victims were taken to hospitals in nearby Delaware, authorities told CNN earlier.
Several others were treated at the scene after being knocked to the ground and trampled as people ran for cover, de Barrena-Sarobe said.
A motive in the shooting has yet to be determined, but de Barrena-Sarobe said it does not appear to be a case “where someone came in with the design to inflict mass damage on a college campus.”
One person who was carrying a gun has been detained, the district attorney said, noting investigators are still piecing together information.
“We don’t have a lot of answers about exactly what happened,” he said, noting it is possible there were multiple shooters.
Local, state and federal law enforcement are investigating, the district attorney’s office said in a statement, asking anyone with knowledge of the shooting to contact the FBI.
Lincoln University is located about 55 miles west of Philadelphia. The school’s website says it is “the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University.”
“This was to be a joyous occasion,” university Chief of Police Marc Partee said, expressing regret over what was supposed to be a celebration of the university’s legacy.
“Homecoming – when individuals come back, and they give back to their alma mater, and they live the good memories of their time at Lincoln University…This was interrupted by gunfire that should not have occurred,” the chief said.
Witnesses recalled seeing people run as loud music played in the background. Moments later, police and firefighters arrived and taped off a section of the campus.
“It was chaos,” one witness told CNN affiliate WPVI, saying she hadn’t heard the shots over the music.
“It was a great time until we heard a couple of shots go off,” another witness told WPVI, describing how everyone in the huge crowd started running at once.
The campus is no longer under lockdown, though the site of the shooting remains an active crime scene, officials said during the news conference.
Counseling will be available Sunday morning for any who need it in the wake of Saturday night’s shooting, the university said on its Instagram page.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has been briefed on the shooting and offered his administration’s full support to the university and local law enforcement.
“Join Lori and me in praying for the Lincoln University community,” Shapiro said.
Saturday’s shooting comes a day after five people were injured in a shooting near the campus of Howard University, another historically Black university, in Washington, DC, as the school began its Homecoming activities. Police said none of the victims were Howard students.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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