South Carolina State University reported that a Thursday night shooting in a dorm-room at the Hugine Suites housing complex killed two people and wounded another, leading campus officials to impose an eight-hour lockdown that was lifted Friday morning, with authorities saying there was no longer a threat. The AP report said the university’s community responded with cancellations, counseling resources, and public communications to families as investigators withheld details about what led to the shooting.
Authorities said Henry L. Crittington, 19, died at the scene and Terrell Thomas, 18, died at the hospital. The condition of the third man was not known at the time officials spoke, and his name was not released, according to the report. The university said the two people killed were not students, while the wounded man was enrolled.
The AP report said a police report indicated two women were in the room, but investigators did not provide further details about the shooting. The report also described the university leadership response: the South Carolina State University Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting to discuss security and then recessed to meet again without the public present. The trustees made no public statements beyond promising to answer questions sent by email later.
In a letter to parents, President Alexander Conyers told families, “Our prayers go out to the victims and their families who were impacted by this incident,” and said the university “strive[s] to provide a safe environment for our students and understand that recent gun-related crimes on campus could cause concerns for parents.”
Students and campus visitors described the immediate aftermath. Kaya Mack, who said she had just finished making a food delivery on campus when she heard gunshots and saw police officers entering through a gate, told WLTX-TV, “Their loud sirens kind of shook me.” She said, “We were looking around, me and other people on campus, we’re all looking around like, ‘What’s going on?’”
The university canceled classes through Monday and postponed its men’s basketball game against Morgan State, originally scheduled for Saturday, to Feb. 25. The school also said it made counselors available to students. The AP report said the shooting occurred a little over four months after two shootings during Oct. 4 homecoming celebrations near the same residential complex—incidents that killed a 19-year-old woman and left a man injured, with multiple people arrested on gun-related charges.
After those homecoming shootings, Conyers announced additions meant to improve security, including new fencing along the campus perimeter and additional security patrols aimed at controlling pedestrian access, with crews also set to repair damaged perimeter barriers. The university is South Carolina’s only public historically Black university and has more than 2,900 current students, according to its website.
The AP report also included comments from Democratic state Rep. Hamilton Grant, who said legislators should look at laws that allow students and others to have guns on college campuses if they are locked and hidden in a vehicle—an approach he said could prevent quick and easy access if a situation escalates. “We grieved during Homecoming and this community grieves yet again,” Grant said, adding that he is a 2011 graduate of the university.