Arrest after shooting at Tuskegee University homecoming that killed 18-year-old and injured 16

On Sunday, 25-year-old Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery was arrested for possession of a handgun with a machine gun conversion device. According to authorities, Myrick was found leaving the scene of the shooting and was federally charged with possession of a machine gun.

No one has been charged in Johnson’s death or the other injuries.

The gunfire broke out just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday in apartments on the West Commons campus.

Lt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said that of the 16 injured, 12 had been shot.

They were taken to hospitals in Montgomery and Lee counties.

The four other people were injured during the ensuing chaos, Burkett said.

Emergency responders, along with campus and local law enforcement, secured the scene. The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting an active investigation and the scene remains cordoned off Sunday afternoon.

Tuskegee University announced that all classes will be canceled on Monday as law enforcement officers and officers continue to process the scene.

It was not immediately clear how many of the injured were students.

Grief counselors will be present in the chapel on Monday.

Tuskegee Police Chief Patrick Mardis, the former campus police chief, previously said a female student had been shot in the stomach. “I helped her load it,” he said.

A male student was shot in the arm, Mardis said.

“It’s terrible,” Mardis said.

Mardis said he feared a shooting on campus when he headed the university police force.

“I was always worrying when I was there,” he said. “You see it happening everywhere. It has happened everywhere else except us.”

Response

Tuskegee celebrated its 100th homecoming on Saturday. It starred Miles College, which said in a news release Sunday morning that “our hearts are with the Tuskegee family as they face the tragic aftermath.”

During a meeting on Sunday morning, Student Government Association President Amare’ Hardee expressed his condolences to the victims of the shooting.

“We will get through this together,” added Norma B. Clayton, chair of the Tuskegee University Board of Trustees.

“Because in tough times, tough people unite and survive. And we have been surviving for 143 years. I think we can survive even further.”

Shomari Figures, the newly elected congressman representing Alabama’s District 2, said he and his wife are praying for the victims.

“Gun violence is tearing too many communities apart and costing far too many lives, especially the lives of young Black people,” Figures said.

“This is an issue that we as a community must tackle together. Everyone has a role to play: parents, government officials, law enforcement, coaches, schools, clergy, businesses, community leaders and organizations, and residents. We must all work together to end this, and I will work hard to provide resources to address both the root causes and causes of gun crimes.”

Several people also posted images on social media after the shooting.

The images showed fear and chaos.

“You all stay down,” a young man shouted. “They don’t shoot.”

ALEA is asking for the public’s help in this matter.

Anyone with information is asked to submit tips at 1-800-CALL-FBI and upload videos or photos at fbi.gov/tuskegeeshooting24.

AL.com reporters Jeremy Gray, Ruth Serven Smith and Kayode Crown contributed to this report.