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Witnesses to the Tuskegee University shooting describe running from gunfire

When multiple shots rang out in a parking lot at Tuskegee University in Alabama early Sunday morning, Kierra Talley thought she was going to die. Talley, a student at Alabama State University, was visiting Tuskegee with friends to celebrate the historically black college's centennial homecoming celebration when, she said, chaos broke out.

“It was people shooting at each other — whether in the crowd, outside the crowd, in a dorm room — there was shooting,” said Talley, 20, who added that she saw at least four gunmen with “heavy ARs” and Guns with “switches,” a small device that turns a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic firearm.

“It wasn’t one person,” she said. “I describe it as a massacre.”

According to local police, one person was fatally shot and at least 16 others were injured in the ordeal, including a dozen with gunshot wounds. The person killed was 18-year-old La'Tavion Johnson, the local coroner said Monday. He is not a student at Tuskegee, the university said in a statement.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show some of the gunfire as dozens of people ran behind cars for cover. Some tried to get to safety, others jumped to the ground. At the beginning of the first shooting video in an .

Classes for students on Monday and Tuesday have been canceled and grief counselors have been provided.

In a news conference Monday, Tuskegee University President and CEO Mark Brown said the school community was “heartbroken about what happened,” adding that while the block party was an unsanctioned event, the school “takes full responsibility.” “take over. He pointed out that in the future the university will be closed to everyone who is not a student, lecturer or employee.

University officials declined to provide NBC News with further comment on the shooting or investigation.

Police arrested Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery and charged him with possession of a machine gun, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a news release. It was not clear whether Myrick was a student. He was arrested as he attempted to leave the scene. However, the agency did not say whether he is a suspect in the shooting. Officials said he remained in the Montgomery County Jail under the custody of U.S. Marshals as of Tuesday afternoon. It's not clear if he has a lawyer.

In a recently unsealed federal complaint, Myrick told federal agents that he fired his gun but denied shooting anyone, according to the Associated Press.

The agency said it had no further information to provide at this time. The FBI has also joined the investigation into the shooting, asking the public for tips and setting up a website to accept videos and images about the incident.

The celebration turned into a tragedy

According to Talley, people gathered in the parking lot for the school's annual block party, which marks the last major gathering of Homecoming weekend. The football game on campus just hours earlier drew a record 47,000 attendees, and hundreds, including children, remained on campus, dancing to music from car speakers and enjoying drinks late into the night.

Around midnight, Talley said she saw a small fight break out between some people, which she said caused some people to run for safety. But when the fight ended, Talley said, things calmed down and after a while more people gathered in the parking lot. Although it has not been confirmed by law enforcement, Talley believes the fight was a precursor to the shooting.

Tuskegee University Homecoming Weekend in Alabama.WSFA

About an hour later, the first shots were heard, Talley recalled, as she hid behind her car, fearing for her life. One of her friends, who calls himself Tony P., was shot twice and has been in the hospital since Tuesday. Talley estimated the shooting lasted at least eight minutes before she saw the first officer at the scene. It was another 15 to 20 minutes before she saw any other officers, she said.

The steady stream of gunfire made the minutes seem like an eternity, she said.

“Seeing and hearing how close they were was very traumatic,” Talley said, “especially because there were shooters everywhere.”

The closest hospitals where the victims were taken were more than 25 miles away — East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Ala., a 30-minute drive from campus, and Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, nearly an hour away is.

Talley said she saw people bleeding to death at the scene, and when she visited her friend at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery that evening, she said she saw people with gunshot wounds on gurneys waiting for medical attention.

“The medical care here is not up to par,” she said, adding that “people can’t afford health care.”…It’s traumatic and we’re expected to be there and be strong.”

With a population of 9,000 residents, the city of Tuskegee has an average household income of $32,000. One in three residents lives in poverty. According to recent census data, 90% of the population is black and about 8% is white. Around 2,900 students are enrolled at the university.

Tuskegee freshman Joaquin Crayton Jr. believes the university bears some responsibility for the shooting and its aftermath, particularly for failing to ensure the safety of students. Crayton said he was on the sidelines of the party when he heard gunshots and ran toward his dorm, Banneker Hall. He said he ran there for safety, only to learn that a gunman was searching the halls of the dorm for someone.

The scene of a shooting early Sunday during Homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University.
The scene of a shooting early Sunday during Homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University.WSFA

“When you escape and run for your life, you gain a different perspective,” said 19-year-old Crayton. “I thought I was safe in my dorm. That wasn't me. A man walked into our dorm room with a loaded gun looking for someone.”

Crayton, an aerospace engineering major, said that members of the student body and the school president held a virtual town hall meeting on Monday to discuss the shooting, but he said that “nothing came to fruition” as the students were continually muted after attempting to speak about their safety concerns. Crayton said he believes the university failed to provide information last weekend about the number of injured victims and its shortcomings in student safety. Although the block party event may have been unauthorized, it happens every year and, given the school's centennial celebration, he said the school administration was better prepared.

“As a collective we are angry about what the school is doing,” he said. “It takes a different kind of trauma for different age groups from 18 to 22 to come together to make sure something like this never happens again.”

Recent gun violence among HBCU homecoming students

Tuskegee isn't the only HBCU suffering gun violence during homecoming festivities. Last month in Nashville, a man was fatally shot and nine others were injured, including three children, when two groups exchanged gunfire during Tennessee State University's homecoming parade. The following week, one person was fatally shot and four others were injured at Albany State University in Georgia over homecoming weekend. And in the state of Alabama, school officials last month reported shootings during their homecoming activities, although there were no reported injuries.

Fighting back tears, Talley said, “When is it going to stop?”

The business administration major blames the shooting in Tuskegee on the lack of personal responsibility in the black community; the lack of gun reform in Alabama; and a lack of national media attention given to mass shootings involving African Americans.

“Tuskegee is already a small town,” she said. “If no one says anything about this city, then this city will simply be forgotten in a society where people already want to erase HBCUs and black culture.”

More than 24 hours removed from the experience, Talley said she was filled with a mix of emotions.

“I'm angry. I'm upset. I’m angry,” she said. “I’m grateful it wasn’t me, but I’m beyond pissed.”

Less than three months into his college experience, Crayton said he feels let down and the student body feels “defeated.”

“Our security has failed us, the police have failed us, our campus police have failed us,” he said. “How many people have to die?”