Arrest Made in Tuskegee University Homecoming Shooting: 25-Year-Old Charged with Possession of Machine Gun Device [Video]

Authorities have made an arrest in connection with the early morning shooting on Tuskegee University’s campus following the university’s 100th homecoming celebration.

Video

Jaquez Myrick, a 25-year-old from Montgomery, was taken into custody after allegedly being found with a handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device as he attempted to leave the scene. Myrick now faces a federal charge of possession of a machine gun, though he has not been charged with murder in connection to the fatality.

The shooting occurred at approximately 1:40 a.m. Sunday at the West Commons on-campus apartments, where gunfire left one person dead. Channel 2 Now identified the victim as 18-year-old Latavion Johnson, who was not affiliated with the university. At least 16 others, including Tuskegee students, sustained injuries and were transported to East Alabama Medical Center and Baptist South Hospital. Tuskegee City Police Chief Mardis reported that one female student was struck in the stomach, and a male student was shot in the arm. The severity of other injuries has not been disclosed. Special Agents from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) are continuing to collect and analyze evidence to determine the events leading up to the shooting.

Social media videos captured the chaotic scene, showing rapid gunfire as attendees crouched for cover around West Commons. At the time, city police were responding to an unrelated double shooting at a Texaco station, where two individuals suffered minor injuries. They were then called to the campus shooting.

“Some idiots started shooting,” Chief Mardis remarked. “You couldn’t get the emergency vehicles in there; there were so many people there.”

Saturday’s homecoming festivities had included a football game against Miles College. Campus and local law enforcement, alongside emergency responders, quickly secured the area, and the SBI is conducting a thorough investigation.