Five people were wounded in the early-morning shooting, and police later arrested a 19-year-old found inside a campus dorm.
ETTRICK, VA — Virginia State University freshman Miles Blake was inside his dorm early Saturday when a burst of gunfire erupted near campus residence halls, sending students running for safety and forcing the university into an hours-long lockdown just before the start of fall classes.
Blake, a freshman engineering student who had arrived for welcome week, told WTVR that the gunfire began near the Quad Annexes in the 3300 block of Boisseau Street. “It was like 100 shots going off like rapid fire,” Blake said. Police said officers were called to the area at about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 15 and found five people suffering from gunshot wounds outside the dormitories.
The shooting disrupted what had been a celebratory opening to the academic year. Incoming students had been taking part in Virginia State’s New Trojans Experience, and nearly 1,500 new students attended a pinning ceremony Friday morning. Classes were scheduled to begin Monday, Aug. 17. Instead, students awoke Saturday to emergency restrictions, a heavy police presence and an investigation involving local, campus and federal authorities.
Blake said he looked from his dorm window after hearing the shots and saw people running outside. Resident advisers began directing students into the building and restricting movement as the campus went into lockdown. The lockdown remained in effect for several hours before university officials lifted it at about 8:20 a.m., saying law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community.
All five people wounded were taken to hospitals. Police said a 21-year-old man who is not a Virginia State student remained in critical condition. A 23-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy, also not students, suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The fifth person wounded, a 20-year-old Virginia State student, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released from the hospital. Authorities had not publicly identified the victims.
Police later arrested Camron Harris, 19, of Henrico, in connection with the shooting. Chesterfield County police said Harris, who is not a Virginia State student, was found at about 4 p.m. Saturday hiding in a closet inside Seward Hall. He was taken to the Chesterfield County Jail. Police obtained eight felony warrants against him, including four counts of malicious wounding and four counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. WTVR reported that Harris was being held without bond and that additional charges could be sought.
Authorities had not announced a motive for the shooting as of Sunday. The university initially said the incident involved multiple suspects, and police had not publicly explained whether investigators were still seeking other people in connection with the gunfire. The arrest of Harris therefore did not resolve all of the questions surrounding what happened outside the Quad Annexes.
The shooting came at a particularly sensitive moment for the historically Black university, with students continuing to move into residence halls and first-year students beginning college life. Virginia State has about 5,700 students, according to The Associated Press. The university told students to monitor their email for information about additional safety measures and support services as officials prepared for the first day of classes.
An increased law enforcement presence remained on campus after the lockdown was lifted. Virginia State University Police were assisting Chesterfield County police in the investigation, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. WTVR also reported that the university moved to a campus-wide curfew following the lockdown.
For Blake, the shooting turned his first days at Virginia State from an introduction to college into an experience of sheltering inside a residence hall while police searched the campus. The university continued preparations for Monday’s classes while investigators worked to determine the circumstances of the shooting, including whether anyone else was involved and what led to the gunfire.
Author note: Last updated August 16, 2026.