One person was killed and at least six other people were wounded in a shooting amid homecoming festivities Saturday night at Lincoln University, one of the country’s first historically Black colleges, authorities said.
The deceased was identified as J’Wan Jeffers, 25, of Wilmington, Delaware. He died just after midnight from a gunshot wound to the head, Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said at a news conference Sunday.
One of the six others who were shot is a current Lincoln University student, another is an alumnus, and the others did not have direct affiliations with the school, de Barrena-Sarobe said. All are 20 to 25 years old and are expected to survive.
“Gun violence happens far too often in our country, and we are heartbroken that Lincoln University and its students are among the latest victims of such senseless violence,” the office of President Brenda Allen said in a statement Sunday.
The attack broke out after crowds left a homecoming football game and gathered outside the school’s International Cultural Center, de Barrena-Sarobe said Saturday. Marc Partee, the university police chief, said the violence took place as visitors gathered for a “tailgate” part of homecoming weekend festivities.
Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson was taken into custody after the shooting, charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license, de Barrena-Sarobe said Sunday.
“I cannot confirm, however, right now at this time whether or not the gun that was found on him was used in the shooting. We have further things to do before we can confirm or deny that,” he said.
Morgan-Thompson was seen with a loaded Glock 28 handgun by a Lincoln University police officer responding to the shooting just after 9 p.m. Saturday, according to a criminal complaint, which noted that the gun was seized.
Morgan-Thompson was interviewed later and said the gun belonged to his mother, according to the complaint. He admitted having transported the firearm from Wilmington to the university despite not having a license to carry a concealed weapon, the complaint says.
Morgan-Thompson is being held at Chester County Prison on $25,000 cash bail, according to court records. The records did not list an attorney for him, and an inquiry sent to the county public defender’s office was not immediately returned Sunday.
De Barrena-Sarobe said investigators have a “strong belief” that multiple shooters were involved.
“We’re operating under the belief that the shooter, or shooters, in this case, did not come here with a specific design to cause a mass casualty event,” he said. “We believe they would have operated differently, and so we’re treating this as a shooting that broke out in the middle of homecoming weekend.”
He did not provide details about a potential motive or what precipitated the gunfire. Local, state and federal law enforcement officials are investigating.
Investigators on Sunday morning brought in canine units, conducted grid searches with the FBI to ensure all evidence is recovered, and conducted ballistic testing, De Barrena-Sarobe said.
Witnesses told NBC Philadelphia that crowds started running from reported gunfire on the campus near Oxford, Pennsylvania, in Chester County, around 9 p.m. Saturday.
Though the nature of the shooting was not clear, Chester County Commissioner Eric Roe said in a statement Saturday that, “It appears there has been a mass shooting there tonight.” He called for people to join him in prayer for students, faculty members and law enforcement officers.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has offered the state’s “full support” to the school’s president and local law enforcement.
“Please avoid the area, continue to follow the guidance of local law enforcement, and join Lori and me in praying for the Lincoln University community,” he said on X.
Two women on campus for Yardfest, a homecoming week event, told NBC Philadelphia that they didn’t hear gunfire but joined a large crowd of people running away from their location.
“It was just a stampede of people,” said Ajia Hopkins, who accompanied friend and Lincoln alumna Dahjai Roger to the event Saturday. “There was no explanation after the running.”
Rogers said that her friends were safe but that three of them fell in the rush to get away.
Lincoln University will suspend classes Monday “for a day of healing and reflection,” Allen’s office said. The school will remain open with staff on-site to provide support to students.
The university says on its website that it is “the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU).”
“This mass shooting should never have happened — never have happened,” de Barrena-Sarobe said Saturday.
The gunfire follows a separate shooting Friday night near Howard University in Washington, D.C, another historically Black college. Five people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in that attack, NBC Washington reported. Police said none of the victims attend Howard, about 120 miles south-southwest of Lincoln.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com