Deadly Homecoming Weekend Prompts HBCUs to Rethink Campus Safety Plans

Bowie State University junior Tamia McClorin remembers people running after a shooting near campus during her first homecoming two years ago. It’s an image she can’t forget. 

“I literally saw a guy that was shot and just lying in the ditch. … I was just freaking out,” McClorin recalled. “It was literally like a big rush of people. Everyone’s just running, trying to get into buildings and stuff.”

She’s still looking forward to homecoming and is ready for the changes this year, she said. 

In the years since the 2023 shooting, the university has implemented advanced technology services, including cameras that scan for weapons, license plate readers, and an additional 19 blue light emergency poles.  

Across the country, HBCUs like Bowie are taking extra safety precautions during homecoming celebrations. In recent weeks, institutions such as Southern University in Louisiana and Florida A&M University have released statements letting the community know they are monitoring ongoing investigations regarding shootings during homecomings. This season, shootings have disrupted celebrations near Jackson State University, South Carolina State University, North Carolina State University, and Howard University. This past weekend, one person was killed and several were injured at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.  

Darren Mitchell, the interim chief of police at Bowie State University, said the institution has been monitoring the recent events to prepare for its homecoming celebration Oct. 31 through Nov. 1. 

However, Mitchell said shootings and other violent acts during homecomings are rarely committed by students or alumni, but rather by attendees who are not associated with the universities. 

“We are preparing with presence,” he said. “The FBI has reported that the number one way in order to reduce violence or criminal activity in any environment is through uniform presence.” 

There are nearly 6,000 students enrolled at Bowie State, Maryland’s oldest HBCU. As in years past, attendees may see an increased presence of first responders from the Maryland Department of State Police, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the city of Bowie’s police department, and private security companies. 

Additionally, the university will end its celebrations sooner at 7 p.m this weekend. About 35 miles away, Morgan State University in Baltimore ended its homecoming celebrations earlier this month at 5 p.m. 

Bowie State prepares for change

Mitchell, who started at the beginning of October, said those planning to attend festivities should visit the university’s website to know what to expect and register for required events. 

The university’s campus will also require those who park to pay, and parking will be one-way. 

“There will be a significant increase in vehicle traffic and pedestrian traffic on our campus,” he said. “We want to make sure that people are first of all informed, to get information about what to expect when they’re here on campus, directional information about the best way to get to our campus, because it will not be a normal day here on our campus.” 

Typically, attendees park along state Route 197, so that people intending to park will have to pay in advance. Those planning to attend are encouraged to use ride-sharing or public transportation. 

“What has happened in the past [is that] people have literally parked their cars along on the highway. And number one, that’s not safe,” Mitchell said. “People are parking on both sides of the highway. They’re crossing over to the highway. So we don’t want our students, our family members and other visitors to put themselves in harm’s way.” 

In 2023, a shooting near Morgan State University led the institution to cancel homecoming events. The following week, a shooting occurred at Bowie State. 

After the shooting, many news outlets attached the shooting to Morgan State University, highlighting the history of violence near the college. However, the shootings aren’t unique to the Baltimore HBCU. 

Since the string of shootings, Bowie State students say the university has become strict with homecoming policies. 

“If you’re shutting it down at 7, when it’s just getting dark out, it’s like, people really didn’t get to have fun,” said McClorin, the Bowie State junior. 

Last year, she said, festivities ended early as well.  She said she can understand why the university would think ending homecoming festivities at 7 p.m. would make campus safer. 

The university provided counseling to those who needed it after the 2023 shooting.

Shootings are a problem at predominantly white institutions, too 

In 2023, more than 2,200 arrests on college campuses were made for carrying/possession of weapons out of more than 20,800 reported arrests on 10,307 campuses, according to the U.S. Department of Education. 

As Mitchell, the chief of police, said, the shooters are often not associated with the university. In fact, the chief said these violent incidents are not unique to Black campuses. 

Over the past several years, shootings have taken place on college campuses across the nation. 

Earlier this year, two people were killed and six others were injured in a mass shooting at Florida State University in April. The shooter was later identified as Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old student at FSU. 

In July, one person was left dead in a University of New Mexico dorm after John Fuentes, 18, opened fire in a dormitory while playing video games. 

In 2021, a shooting at Towson University, about 5 miles from Morgan State in Maryland, resulted in three people being shot, according to CNN. 

“Senseless violence” 

This past weekend, at least two shootings happened near homecoming celebrations at Howard University and Lincoln University.

Jujuan Jeffers, age 25, of Wilmington, Delaware, died from a gunshot wound just after midnight on Sunday, after the shooting at Lincoln University.

Six others were shot, including a current student and an alumnus, the Chester County district attorney’s office said in a press conference Sunday. All are expected to survive. 

“What occurred last night was tragic for our students, our families, and our community,” said the university president, Brenda Allen, in a statement. “Gun violence happens far too often in our country, and we are heartbroken that Lincoln University and its students are among the latest victims of such senseless violence.” 

As of Tuesday, one person is in custody in connection with the shooting, while police search for another suspect. The shooters are believed not to be associated with the university, the district attorney’s office said. 

Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, of Wilmington, Delaware, is charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license. He is currently being held at Chester County Prison in Pennsylvania. His bail was originally $25,000, but was later increased to $1 million. 

Classes were canceled on Monday and the community was invited to a moment of reflection on campus. 

On Friday, around 8:20 p.m., shortly after the last performer at Howard’s Yardfest, an outside concert that happens on the university’s main campus, five people were shot, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. One was identified as a senior biology major at Morgan State University from Minnesota, the university told Capital B. The student was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

“This incident, here at Howard, has not happened in many, many years,” said Smith during an Oct. 24 press conference after the shooting. 

Washington police are not sure what prompted the shooting, which remains under investigation, said officer Michael Russo, a department spokesperson.

During South Carolina State University’s homecoming on Oct. 4, there were two separate shootings. Jaliyah Butler, 19, was killed, and several others were injured, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Matthew Daniel McCoy, 18, is charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person, and carrying a weapon on school property, according to the press release. 

The FBI has created a website dedicated to any tips that could help with the investigation. 

A series of shootings happened in Mississippi during Jackson State University and Alcorn State  University’s homecoming, during the weekend of Oct. 11. 

Brekyra Fisher, 29, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, died after being shot on the Alcorn State University campus near the university’s Industrial Technology Building during its homecoming weekend, according to the Claiborne County coroner’s office. Days after the shooting, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced it arrested Taevion Doss, 26, on charges including murder and aggravated assault. Doss was denied bond on Oct 17. 

The JSU shooting was not connected to the university, police said. 

The HBCU homecoming season is not over yet. This weekend, Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, and several other colleges are gearing up to welcome alumni back to campus. 

Mitchell said Bowie State has been coordinating with law enforcement to make sure that everyone is on the same page for a successful, safe, and welcoming homecoming. 

“Sixty years of existence as a university, and this will be our 90th homecoming celebration,” Mitchell said. “We want to allow everyone to have fun.” 

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