baltimore –
Multiple people were shot at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Tuesday, police said, prompting students to seek shelter on the historically black university’s campus.
The Baltimore Police Department said officers were on the scene in response to a shooting incident. The address listed at the scene of the shooting appeared to match a residential building on the same block as the city’s police station.
“We are asking everyone to shelter in place and avoid the area.” The police told X:the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Police spokesman Vernon Davis told the Baltimore Banner that at least four people were shot. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Police spokeswoman Amanda Klotke also said “multiple victims” were shot.
City Council member Odette Ramos told X that students and staff were ordered to shelter in place.
At the scene Tuesday night, officers blocked off the south entrance to campus near the dormitory buildings as police helicopters circled overhead.
The shooting occurred during a week of activities leading up to the school’s homecoming game on Saturday. The Mr. Morgan State University and Miss Morgan State University coronation ceremonies were scheduled for Tuesday night at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, one of the places the school recommends people avoid.
Glenmore Blackwood came to campus after hearing from her son’s senior that the shooting happened just as the coronation celebration was ending.
Blackwood said her son was taking shelter in the arts center’s auditorium. He was scheduled to sing at the ceremony and host a prayer service afterwards.
“That’s my son. He’s going to make sure I’m okay,” Blackwood said. “It’s just sad. They were doing something good, an event promoting positivity, and then something negative like this happens.”
Ish Sargent, 20, who lives nearby, said he heard the helicopter and went outside with his friends. No gunshots were heard. Sargent doesn’t usually worry about gun violence in the area, he said.
“But at school it’s crazy,” she said. “There are people shooting guns right here.”
The college, which has about 9,000 students, was founded in 1867 as the Centennial Bible Institute, with an original mission of training men for the ministry, according to its website. Moving to its current location in northeast Baltimore in 1917, she was acquired by the state of Maryland in 1939 with the goal of providing more opportunities for black citizens.
