BALTIMORE — Several homecoming events are postponed while others are canceled after five people were shot at Morgan State University Tuesday night.
The shooting interrupted a homecoming week celebration and left four students and a fifth person wounded.
The shooting also caused the university to be placed under an hours-long lockdown as police went from room to room looking for suspects. No arrests have been made.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the five victims, four men and one woman, are between the ages of 18 and 22. Their injuries were not life-threatening, he told reporters at a news conference early Wednesday.
Less than 24 hours after the shooting, MSU President David K. Wilson announced in a letter that all on-campus activities, including the Lady Bear Volleyball match, the homecoming concert, silent headphones party, homecoming pep rally and homecoming parade have been canceled.
"Regarding Homecoming, regrettably for the very first time in Morgan’s history, all activities planned around Homecoming will be either canceled or postponed until the perpetrator(s) of this atrocity have been found and brought to justice," the letter reads.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the homecoming football game and 39th annual gala have been postponed.
"We unfortunately find ourselves navigating this tragic event during a time at which we should be celebrating our National Treasure during Homecoming," Worley writes. "Please understand that the safety of our campus is of the utmost importance and our resolve in ensuring that we have a secure campus is paramount. In response to last evening’s events, we are aggressively increasing security measures on campus, further amplifying additional security measures that have been implemented in recent years."
The decision to cancel and postpone the activities comes out of an abundance of sensitivity for the emotional well-being of those on campus, Worley says. Additionally, all classes have been canceled for the remainder of the week.
"We strongly believe that this moment calls for reflection, thus allowing our students, faculty and staff the opportunity to focus on their mental wellness," Worley says.
Many students had already made the decision to leave, with a parade of anxious parents seen on campus Wednesday.
"It doesn't feel real," freshman K'Miles Davis said. "Is it normalized? Yes it is normalized. But all I could say is, you know, it can happen anywhere."
Davis' mother, Jasmin Washington, took a red eye from Los Angeles after her son sent her videos of a swat team clearing his dorm.
"I was already having anxieties about him being so far away, and then something like this happens," Washington said.
Other out-of-state students sought refuge at the home of closer friends and family.
Journey Pleasant, who hails from Gary, Indiana, was picked up by a family friend who lives in St. Mary's County, Maryland so she could process the events away from campus.
"This isn't what I came here for," Pleasant said.