Baltimore Police have released footage of the persons of interest being sought for the mass shooting during a Morgan State University homecoming event – as they seek the public’s help in identifying them.
Video, released by police on Wednesday shows, shows four people walking across the campus in Baltimore, Maryland, shortly after the shooting that left five victims injured.
Students and faculty had been celebrating homecoming and the crowning of Mr and Miss Morgan State University when gunshots rung out on the campus at around 9.30pm on Tuesday night.
The campus was immediately plunged into lockdown with authorities believing that an “active shooter situation” was taking place.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley later said that the shooting was likely the result of a dispute between two groups of people.
Preliminary evidence indicates that the shooters were targeting one person, who wasn’t among the victims, he said.
Five bystanders were injured as a result of the gunfire, four of which are students at the university.
Officials confirmed on Wednesday morning that all five – four men and one woman aged between 18 and 22 – suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Four people were seen walking across the campus in the footage— (Baltimore Police)
Anyone with information is asked to contact Northeast District Shooting detectives— (Baltimore Police)
Initially, police did not confirm how many shooters opened fire but Baltimore City Council Member Ryan Dorsey said in a post on X at the time of the shooting that he had been told there may have been three separate shooters firing into the crowd.
Now, police are seeking four persons of interest with the police commissioner saying three people pulled guns during the dispute – though it wasn’t clear whether the third person pulled the trigger.
No arrests have yet been made.
The university said classes would be cancelled for the rest of the week, and that all homecoming activities “will be either cancelled or postponed until the perpetrator(s) of this atrocity have been found and brought to justice”.
A police officer searches for evidence in front of a building at Morgan State Universit— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Jennifer Eden, 34, of Baltimore, who attended the ceremony on Tuesday told The Associated Press: “I had never been so close to gunshots that I could feel the vibration in the air.
“Coronation is very much a pomp and circumstance kind of event. People are in gowns and tuxedos and crowns and sashes, and so gun violence is the furthest thing from my mind in that type of setting.”
Morgan State homecoming celebrations have been subject to violence in previous years.
Last October, a young man was shot during what officials called an unsanctioned homecoming after-party on the campus.
A Baltimore City Fire Department truck stages at Morgan State University during a shooting on the campus Tuesday
The year before, a freshman was arrested and charged with shooting his classmate over homecoming weekend.
Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher said the University has taken extra security measures in recent years, including increased police presence and surveillance camera coverage.
“Oftentimes you can’t stop a bad actor from doing bad acts,” he said. “But we will continue to try to ensure the safety of our students.”
Anyone with information about the individuals in the footage is asked to call detectives at 410-396-2444 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.
