Gunfire erupts at Tuskegee University Homecoming celebration leaving one dead, dozen-plus injured
What was supposed to be a night full of celebration ended abruptly after numerous gunshots rang out across the west end of the campus of Tuskegee University. The institution was celebrating its centennial homecoming anniversary.
Around 1 A.M. Sunday, as partygoers were crowded in a campus parking lot celebrating the momentous anniversary, gunfire erupted.
Law enforcement officials from Macon County, Tuskegee, Lee County, Auburn, Franklin, Shorter, Eclectic, and Montgomery, responded to the scene and located chaos.
In the shooting, an 18-year-old “nonuniversity related” juvenile was killed. AL.com confirmed with Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley the identity of the juvenile as Latavion Johnson. He lived in Troy and was not a Tuskegee student.
Twelve others were injured by the gunfire and taken to area hospitals in Montgomery and Lee counties. Four other individuals were wounded by other injuries throughout the incident.
According to Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, law enforcement officers found Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery, in possession of a handgun with a machine gun conversion device.
Myrick was found leaving the scene of the shooting that occurred on the campus of Tuskegee University. Myrick was arrested and charged federally with Possession of a Machine Gun.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Mobile Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Fifth Judicial Circuit and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, were called to the scene to investigate alongside Tuskegee and Macon County officials. The scene remains being processed, leading to the university cancelling all classes on Monday, November 11, 2024.
This shooting came hours after a previous shooting at a gas station in downtown Tuskegee, which injured two people, according to AL.com.
ALEA is asking for the public’s assistance in this case. Anyone with information is asked to please submit tips at 1-800-CALL-FBI and upload any digital files regarding this incident online at: fbi.gov/tuskegeeshooting24.
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