Suspect arrested in deadly Tuskegee Homecoming shooting

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (WBMA) — A suspect has been arrested in connection to the Tuskegee Homecoming shooting that left one person dead and 16 injured early Sunday.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) identified 25-year-old Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery as the suspect in the case and charged him with possession of a machine gun.

"Myrick was found leaving the scene of the shooting that occurred on the campus of Tuskegee University," law enforcement stated.

Officials added Myrick was in possession of a handgun with a machine gun conversion device.It did not accuse him of using the gun in the shooting or provide additional details.

The agency also did not say whether Myrick was a student at the university.

According to ALEA, at approximately 1:40 am, Special Agents received reports of multiple people shot on Tuskegee University's Campus.

When officers arrived, they observed an 18-year-old lying on the ground unresponsive before they were pronounced dead on the scene.

The victim of the shooting was not a university student, but some of those who were injured were.

Twelve people were injured by gunfire and taken to area hospitals while four others sustained injuries that were not related to gunfire during the incident, ALEA said.Their conditions were not immediately released.

“The parents of [the deceased] individual have been notified. Several others including Tuskegee University students were injured and are receiving treatment at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery,” Tuskegee University released in a statement.

“The university is in the process of completing student accountability and notifying parents,” the statement added.

The FBI joined the investigation and said it was seeking tips from the public, as well as any video witnesses might have. It set up a site online for people to upload video. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also was involved in the investigation, a local prosecutor said.

Tuskegee University canceled classes Monday and said grief counselors will be available in the university's chapel to help students.

The parents of the victim were notified, and an autopsy was planned at the state's forensic center in Montgomery, Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley told The Associated Press.

Tuskegee city's police chief, Patrick Mardis, said the injured included a female student who was shot in the stomach and a male student who was shot in the arm.

City police were responding to an unrelated double shooting off campus when officers got the call about the university shooting at the West Commons on-campus apartments, Mardis said.

About 3,000 students are enrolled at the university about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Alabama's capital city of Montgomery.

The university was the first historically Black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Site in 1974, according to the school's website.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press and The National News Desk contributed to this article.