A 19-year-old shooting suspect was discovered cowering inside a dormitory closet on the Virginia State University campus.
Camron Harris of Henrico, Virginia, was nabbed by police at around 4 p.m. Saturday, roughly 14 and a half hours after he allegedly opened fire near campus residence halls and wounded five people. Authorities according to reports located Harris tucked away in a closet inside Seward Hall, a university dormitory. He is currently sitting in Chesterfield County Jail with no bond.
Here is the kicker. Harris is not even a student at the school. Neither were four of the five people he allegedly shot.
Chesterfield County Police say the chaos erupted at approximately 1:28 a.m. Saturday when officers were called to the 3300 block of Boisseau Street in Ettrick, Virginia, near the university's Quad Annexes and outside campus housing. When cops arrived, they found five people suffering from gunshot wounds.
The victims ranged from 17 to 23 years old, four males and one female. Only one of them, a 20-year-old man, actually attends Virginia State University. He sustained injuries that were not life threatening and has already been discharged from the hospital. A 21-year-old man who does not attend the university remains in critical condition. The remaining three victims, a 23-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old boy, all non-students, also suffered wounds that are not considered life threatening.
So to recap the absurdity here: a non-student allegedly shot mostly non-students on a college campus, then apparently thought the best escape plan was hiding in a dorm closet for over half a day. Brilliant strategy there.
Harris is now staring down a mountain of felony charges. Prosecutors have hit him with four counts of malicious wounding and four counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony. Investigators have signaled that even more charges could be on the way as their probe continues. His first court appearance is set for Monday.
The incident triggered a full campus lockdown, though it was eventually lifted once police determined no ongoing danger existed. The timing could not have been worse. Residence halls had only opened about a week prior, and many freshmen had just wrapped up the school's New Trojans Experience orientation program. Classes were slated to begin on Monday, August 17.
Virginia State University is a historically Black institution situated roughly 20 to 25 miles south of Richmond, with an enrollment of approximately 5,700 students. Those students were supposed to be focused on starting a new semester, not dealing with the aftermath of gunfire outside their dorms.
Harris will face a judge on Monday, and given the severity of these charges, his closet hiding days are likely over for a very long time.
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