Arkansas University shooting leaves several students killed and injured early Tuesday in a parking lot at the campus in Magnolia.
Lawmen were sent to the campus about 12:31 a.m. in response to a report that two people had been shot. One of the arriving officers found a person in a vehicle who appeared unconscious and was soon determined to be dead.
The Arkansas University affirmed the fatality in a message sent to the campus community but the victims have not been clearly identified.
“At this time, the University Police Department has secured the scene. The incident is under investigation, but we know one student was killed and another wounded. We ask for your prayers for the families involved, and for our entire campus community.”
“All necessary steps have been taken to secure the campus. Classes and late registration will continue as scheduled today,” the statement said.
Arkansas University shooting victims
One shooting victim was inside the vehicle. The second victim was taken to Magnolia Regional Medical Center.
The shooting is considered to be the first on-campus homicide in the history of the 111-year-old university. In Columbia County, there has been one murder-suicide and one justifiable homicide this year.
SAU Police Chief, Jeff Jester, said that he would publish a statement later Tuesday with more information. Columbia County Coroner Randy Reed was also on the scene early Tuesday. But SAU President Dr. Trey Berry was unavailable for comments.
Magnolia Police Department investigators and SAU officers scoured the area around a small four-door, dark-colored sedan parked almost considerately in the center of the large parking lot across the street from the Reynolds Campus and Community Center.
Due to the time of the incident, the parking lot was largely empty besides for a group of vehicles near North Washington Street, across the street from the Talley Hall private dormitory.
Fall classes were scheduled to start at SAU on Tuesday morning. But now SAU students, faculty, and staff are advised to consult the university’s message system for additional information on how the shooting may affect Tuesday classes and other campus actions.
Investigators took photographs and made notes at the shooting scene. The first police line around the vehicle was soon developed to cover the entire parking lot.
Read the full article on our website:
Please visit the website to read more news: https://usdaynews.com/
Like the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USdayNWES
Follow the Twitter page: https://twitter.com/usdaynews
Originally published at https://usdaynews.com on August 11, 2020.
