The man killed in the homecoming weekend shooting at Tuskegee University has been identified as 18-year-old La'Tavion Johnson, of Troy, Alabama, who was not a student, the local coroner said Monday.
Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery, was taken into custody while leaving the scene of the campus shooting and had been found with a handgun with a machine gun conversion device, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. Myrick faces a federal charge of possession of a machine gun, the agency said in a statement. It did not accuse him of using the gun in the shooting or provide additional details.
The agency did not say whether Myrick was a student at the university, where the shooting erupted as the school’s 100th homecoming week was winding down.
It was not immediately known if Myrick had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. He was being held in the Montgomery County jail, online booking records show.
Twelve people were wounded by gunfire, and four others sustained injuries not related to the gunshots, the state agency said. Several were being treated at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery, the university said in a statement.
Their conditions were not immediately released, but Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley said he understands that at least one of the people injured has been in critical condition.
The FBI joined the investigation and said it was seeking tips from the public, as well as any video witnesses might have. It set up a site online for people to upload video. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also was involved in the investigation, a local prosecutor said.
The school is no longer an open campus, Tuskegee University President Dr. Mark A. Brown said at a press conference Monday outside the campus’ main entrance. All students and faculty will have to wear their IDs while on campus.
Brown said there were security checks at all official school events, but the party where the shooting happened was not sanctioned by the school.
“We did not nor could we have planned for security at an event that was not approved in advance or sanctioned by the university,” Brown said. But he said the school administration would “take full responsibility” for “implementing corrective actions.”
The former campus security chief has been replaced, the president said, and the new security chief will conduct a thorough review of the shooting. When asked, Brown did not provide the name of the new head of campus security.
Brown said that classes were canceled for Monday and Tuesday, all students would be offered counseling, and there would be a town hall to address the community’s concerns. All students who live “in the vicinity of the shooting” will be given the opportunity to relocate, Brown said.
About 3,000 students are enrolled at the university about 40 miles east of Alabama’s capital city of Montgomery.
