Alumni, current students and many others made their way to Tuskegee, Alabama, for the legendary HBCU’s 100th homecoming last weekend. Following Saturday’s big day full of the hoopla and fun, gunfire rang out around 1:40 AM Sunday morning, and unfortunately 17 people were hurt with one being pronounced dead.
Fatal Shooting at Tuskegee University Homecoming Event:
Early Sunday, a shooting at Tuskegee University’s homecoming celebration in Alabama resulted in one death and multiple injuries, including students. The university confirmed that the deceased was not affiliated with the… pic.twitter.com/clAsGanfD2
While the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) made an arrest hours later, the damage had already been done.
Police took 25-year-old Jacquez Myrick into custody. It’s also unknown if Myrick, arrested near the site of the shooting, was never a student at the historic HBCU, but what is known that authorities found Myrick with a handgun fully equipped with a machine gun conversion as he attempted to vacate the scene.
Myrick, now faces a federal gun charge for possession of a machine gun, and while most things point in his direction, he hasn’t been charged in the shooting.
Have you seen this video? These psychos pull up and start shooting into a group of college kids who are just trying to enjoy their homecoming party at Tuskegee. One suspect arrested. Need your help to catch the others. @CNN@ABC@NBCNews@CBSNews@MSNBCpic.twitter.com/a36b5V44dy
Tuskegee Police Chief Speaks OnHomecoming Shooting:La’Tavion Johnson Dies A Hero
Tuskegee interim Police Chief Pat Mardis told reporters that 18-year-old Latavion Johnson, an Alabama State student, perished in the horrific hail of bullets.
“Some idiots started shooting,” Chief Mardis remarked. “You couldn’t get the emergency vehicles in there; there were so many people there.”
Details have emerged that Johnson, who was the only person to lose his life to the hail of gunfire, acted heroically in the final moments of his life,
“On one of the videos, a girl said he pushed her out of the way, and that’s when he got shot” said the victim’s father, Larry Johnson. “She made a post that someone saved her life, and lost his life.”
“He’s a hero in his own way,” Larry Johnson said.
Alabama State student La’Tavion Johnson,18, was killed saving another person’s life when a hail of gunfire erupted at Tuskegee University’s 100th Homecoming game celebration.
Those who knew La’Tavion Johnson described him as a “lively soul,” and his mother affectionately described him as a “mama’s boy,” and insisted “That was my baby.”
“He was a loving person,” his father added. He started to exclaim, “The life he had…” but was in too much pain to complete his thought.
The family was already grieving another child when this tragedy struck. La’Tavion Johnson’s sister recently died, leaving behind a son. The teen had been helping the family raise his nephew.
The shooting sent a shock wave of emotions throughout the area, especially as they were finishing out a such a special weekend for the university.
Tuskegee University 47,311 Homecoming Attendance against Miles College * 2024 Division II football record for home attended game pic.twitter.com/oBDKccKi8z
On Monday, school President Mark A. Brown announced new measures to help ensure the safety and well-being of the school’s students and faculty.
Brown said Tuskegee University is “no longer an open campus.” Effective immediately, everyone will be required to show a university ID to enter campus. Students, faculty and staff must wear their IDs at all times while on campus. The university says for those who don’t have one, the team in the Public Safety building across from the main gate will be able to provide one.
“An annual homecoming is something we have been doing for 100 years. It is a tradition at many schools and especially so at historically Black colleges and universities,” he said. “We have no plans to change that tradition.”
“We did not nor could we have planned for security at an event that was not approved in advance or officially sanctioned by the university,” Brown said. “Nonetheless, it happened on our campus, and we take full responsibility for allowing a thorough investigation and implementing corrective actions.”
“We have and will prioritize the mental health of our students”
Tuskegee Loses Homecoming Game
Earlier Saturday the Golden Tigers didn’t fare too well in losing to the Miles College Golden Bears 37-7. Football game aside, this past weekend was about celebrating 100 years of homecoming gatherings, and unfortunately the events early Sunday morning took the luster off of that.
