Five wounded in shooting at Virginia State University, multiple suspects
Al Jazeera · LC · trust 54/100
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x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Memorial flowers laid at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia following a shooting in March [File: Allen G Breed/The Associated Press] By Al Jazeera Staff and AP Published On 15 Aug 2026 15 Aug 2026 A shooting at a university campus in the US state of Virginia has wounded five people and led to an hours-long lockdown.
The shooting early on Saturday morning was near Virginia State University’s Quad Annexes, it said in a statement.
Multiple suspects were involved and all five who were injured were taken to hospital, including one in critical condition, according to the university.
“VSU Police and the Chesterfield County Police Department are actively investigating,” the university statement said. “The campus community should continue to avoid the area and follow all law enforcement instructions.”
The university announced at 8:21am (12:21 GMT) that an earlier campus-wide lockdown had been lifted, while a “significant law enforcement presence” remains on campus as part of an ongoing investigation. It encouraged anyone with information about the shooting to contact Chesterfield County Police, which is leading the investigation.
The shooting happened two days before the university’s fall [autumn] semester is due to start.
Virginia State University is a historically Black university in Ettrick, about 24 miles (39km) south of the state capital of Richmond.
It has about 5,700 students and was the first fully state-supported four-year college for Black Americans.
Gun violence at colleges and universities in the United States is relatively common, with the Gun Violence Archive, a national tracker, recording 100 incidents where individuals were wounded or killed in shootings at higher education institutions in 2025.
One of the most high-profile attacks in recent years was in Virginia, when a gunman fatally shot 32 people and wounded 17 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also known as Virginia Tech, in 2007.
Earlier this year, a man opened fire at a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) group at Old Dominion University, killing an instructor and wounding two others.
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