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2 Delaware State Students Shot on Campus

By Shauntel Lowe
Black College Wire

Bob Herbert/The News Journal Second-year Delaware State University student Eduardo Rivera leaves campus after being denied entry because of the shootings.

Two 17-year-old Delaware State University students were struck by gunfire on campus after shots were fired among a group of students.

At a news conference around 1 p.m. local time on Sept. 21, James Overton, the university police chief, said there were two "persons of interest" in the shooting, one still at large. The other was in custody and being interviewed. Both are students.

One of the victims, a woman, was shot twice and was in serious condition at a local hospital. The other victim, a man, was shot once and was in stable condition. Both students are from the Washington area.

The historically black campus in Dover, Del., was on lockdown and classes were canceled for the day as the investigation continued. Delaware State University police were heading the investigation, with Delaware State police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the state Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Marshal's Office assisting.

[The university announced Sept. 22 that it would go back to its regular operations on Monday, Sept. 24, fully resuming its class schedule.]

University spokesman Carlos Holmes said these measures were taken for the security of staff and students, since the shooter had not been found.

"As long as he's at large, we cannot ensure the security of anyone on campus," he said. "We would hope that he's gone by now because of all the police we have on campus. Given the lessons of the tragedy this year" at Virginia Tech, "we cannot assume that."

Overton said that between midnight and 1 a.m., eight to 10 students left the University Village Cafe and dispersed to the pedestrian mall between Grossley Hall and Memorial Hall. An individual produced a gun among a group of students and four to six shots were fired, injuring the two victims.

Overton said the university police department was contacted at 12:54 a.m. and ambulances and university police were dispatched to the scene, where the two victims were found and then transported to local hospitals.

Holmes said all residence hall managers were immediately notified that there had been a shooting incident and were instructed not to allow students to leave the dormitories. According to the school Web site, there are seven campus residential halls — four for women and three for men — and 1,500 on- campus residents.

Non-essential administrators were told not to come to campus. Only public safety and central administrators were told to come to work.

Holmes said that at 2:40 a.m., a "timely warning notification" was posted on the campus Web site, in all of the residence halls, and in off-campus apartment complexes. The university also put an announcement on its emergency line, the Delaware State University "snow line," which is typically used for notices about weather emergencies. Holmes said anyone who picks up a land line on campus will first hear the announcement.

Holmes said university President Allen L. Sessoms made the decision to cancel classes just after 5 a.m.

"We had to be very concerned with the safety of the entire campus community," Holmes said.

The Delaware State violence conjured up memories of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech in April, in which 32 students and the shooter were killed and administrators were criticized for not notifying the students and staff quickly enough. "The biggest lesson learned from the whole situation at Virginia Tech was 'don't wait.' Once you have an incident, start notifying the community," Holmes said.

Students at the university spoke out all day about what the shooting meant for the campus.

Chris Stevens, a 2007 DSU graduate, said he wanted people to know that this type of violence is not typical for the university.

"This is not par for the course at DSU. This is not a thug-oriented campus. As the cliche goes, 'thugs don't go to college.' This probably has more to do with the lack of security at HBCUs," he said.

Stevens, a Wilmington, Del., native, called the security style of HBCUs "unique." "There will be events with 100 percent ID check and people will flash anything from a social security card to a bank statement from a distance and whoever is at the gate will wave them through," he said.

Stevens said it seemed that student safety was not the top priority of Delaware State police. "It seems like security at Delaware State was more concerned about giving people parking tickets than about the safety of students and staff," he said.

As for the Sept. 21 shooting, which has shocked the university community, Holmes said the university was doing everything it could to protect students and find the shooter. "We have work to do. We can't really dwell on how troubled we are by this situation," he said.

Gary Emeigh/The News Journal A Dover, Del., police motorcycle unit talks with Delaware State University campus security personnel. The campus was on lockdown and classes were canceled for the day.

Shauntel Lowe, a 2006 Black College Wire intern, is a June graduate of the University of California – Los Angeles. To comment, e-mail .

Posted Sept. 21, 2007