Virginia State University was placed on lockdown before dawn Saturday after gunfire erupted outside campus residence halls, wounding five people just two days before the start of fall classes. Chesterfield County Police said officers responded around 1:28 a.m. to the Quad Annexes area near Boisseau Street, on the historically Black university's campus in Ettrick, about 24 miles south of Richmond, and found five people suffering from gunshot wounds.

The victims ranged in age from 17 to 23. Police said a 21-year-old man was critically injured, while a 20-year-old VSU student, a 17-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The student was treated and released from the hospital. Investigators said the shooting involved multiple shooters rather than a single gunman, though a full motive has not been released.

Suspect found hiding in a dorm closet

More than twelve hours after the shooting, police said they arrested 19-year-old Camron Harris of Henrico County — who is not a VSU student — after finding him hiding in a closet inside Seward Hall, a residence hall on campus, at around 4 p.m. Saturday. Harris faces eight felony warrants, including malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and is being held at the Chesterfield County Jail. Police said none of the four non-student victims were enrolled at the university either. The Chesterfield County Police Department's Criminal Investigations Major Crimes Unit is leading the case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff's Office, and officials say additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.

The campuswide lockdown, which had confined students to their dorms overnight, was lifted around 8:20 a.m. as police determined there was no continuing threat, though a heightened police presence remained on campus through the weekend. VSU's residence halls had opened to students roughly a week before the shooting, with classes for the fall semester set to begin Monday.

"WE ARE PRAYING FOR A QUICK RECOVERY FOR THOSE WHO WERE SHOT THIS MORNING AT VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY." — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger

Virginia State University, founded in 1882, is the nation's first fully state-supported four-year institution for Black students and enrolls roughly 4,000 students. News of the shooting rattled a campus preparing to welcome its incoming class, with local officials and alumni voicing shock that violence broke out just as move-in and orientation events were wrapping up for the year.

Chesterfield County Police have not released additional details on how the confrontation began or the relationship, if any, between the suspect and the victims. The investigation remains active, and authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward as they work to determine what set off the gunfire outside the dorms.