1 student dead and another injured in shooting at Kentucky State University in Frankfort
By Emma Tucker, CNN
(CNN) — One student is dead and another remains in critical condition after a shooting at Kentucky State University in Frankfort on Tuesday just days before going on winter break, officials said.
The 48-year-old suspect, who is from Indiana and is not a student, has been booked into Franklin County Regional Jail on charges of murder and assault, first degree, police and university officials said.
CNN is working to determine whether the suspect has an attorney.
The student in critical condition remains stable, university spokesperson Michael DeCourcy told CNN.
The shooting, which happened during finals week, was not a targeted attack, he said.
All classes, final exams and campus activities were suspended for the rest of the week, the university announced Tuesday evening. “Students may return home if they choose. Additional guidance will be communicated as soon as possible,” the statement said.
There is no further threat to the community after campus police officers responded to the shooting immediately and arrested the suspect moments after the first gunfire, said assistant chief of police Scott Tracy at a news conference. By the time Frankfort police arrived within four minutes of the first 911 call, the scene had been secured and a suspect was arrested as the school remained on lockdown, Tracy said.
The Frankfort Police Department is now investigating what Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called an isolated attack on the historically Black university.
Frankfort is about 25 miles northwest from Lexington.
Kentucky State University has now become the site of the 73rd shooting on school grounds this year, most of which took place on college campuses, according to CNN’s analysis of events reported by the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety.
The university, which was chartered in 1886, has more than 2,200 students and 450 faculty and staff members, according its website.
None of the campus police officers fired their weapons “to our knowledge,” the school spokesperson said, adding: “This is beyond terrible.”
Police said the shooting unfolded around 3:10 p.m. outside Whitney M. Young Jr. residence hall, a dorm on campus, according to the university, which added it would not identify the victims at this time out of respect for them and their families.
“We are in close contact with the families and are providing every available support to them,” the statement said.
The university urged anyone in need of counseling and support to seek services available to students, faculty and staff impacted by the tragedy.
University president Koffi C. Akakpo called the shooting a “senseless tragedy” that has left the community mourning the loss of one of its students.
“As a parent, I cannot imagine receiving the call I placed today to the parents. Our students need prayers. Kentucky State University need prayers,” Akakpo said at the news conference.
Tracy commended the quick and coordinated response of the responding agencies, saying, “their rapid actions ensured that the situation was contained almost immediately, preventing further harm.”
Campus and local police were assisted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, state police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, among other agencies, Tracy said.
Tuesday’s incident is the latest HBCU attacked in recent months, after two others experienced shootings in October during homecoming weekends.
Five people were injured in a shooting near the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, police said, but none of the victims were students.
Just one day later, at least one person was killed and six others were injured during homecoming weekend at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University, police said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow, Taso Stefanidis, Alex Leeds Matthews, Amy O’Kruk and Annette Choi contributed to this report.
