A string of shootings over the weekend near college towns and a major football rivalry left at least five people dead and dozens injured across Indiana, Delaware, Alabama, Texas and Arkansas.
In Bloomington, Indiana, seven people were hospitalized after gunfire broke out near Indiana University during homecoming festivities. Police said officers monitoring a large crowd around Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street heard shots around 1:30 a.m. ET and saw a man running from the area with a firearm. He was taken into custody near Dunn Meadow, and officers recovered a gun and shell casings. Police said it is still unclear whether the suspect fired any shots, and they have not confirmed whether there were additional victims. A disturbance in the crowd may have preceded the shooting. Indiana University police and Indiana State Police both assisted in the response.
In Newark, Delaware, a shooting Saturday night on Main Street near the University of Delaware left at least six people hospitalized, though the university has not released a confirmed victim count or said whether anyone died. University President Laura Carlson told the campus community that victims were receiving care and thanked Newark police, campus police and other first responders.
“I am writing to you about the shooting last night in Newark on Main Street, although it is difficult to know what to say when violence like this erupts in our community,” Carlson wrote. “We are all impacted. I ask that you keep the victims in your thoughts and hearts as they receive care.”
Peter Bothum, the university’s director of media relations, said the school was “deeply concerned” about the shooting and would post confirmed updates to a dedicated alerts page as the Newark Police Department leads the investigation.
The deadliest incident happened in Birmingham, Alabama, where one person was killed and eight others wounded Saturday night following the Magic City Classic football game near Legion Field. Officers found nine people with gunshot wounds in the 400 block of Graymont Avenue West shortly after 7:50 p.m. ET. One victim was in critical condition; the rest were stable. Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett said most fans had already left the stadium grounds when the shooting occurred near vendor stands along Graymont Avenue, adding he was “very grateful that more people weren’t injured.” Police spokesperson De’Rell Freeman said one person was detained for questioning and that multiple weapons were recovered.
The Magic City Classic, a rivalry between historically Black universities Alabama State and Alabama A&M that has been played for more than a century, drew nearly 70,000 fans to Saturday’s game, which Alabama A&M won 31-28.
Elsewhere, police in Dallas reported four people dead and 15 injured following three separate shootings in one neighborhood. Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said investigators were still working to determine whether the shootings were connected. Some arrests were made, though Comeaux did not specify how many or on what charges.
“This is a really big scene. It’s spread out,” Comeaux said. “We are interviewing some individuals right now that we have arrested, still trying to figure out exactly how it ties into all the shootings out here.”
In Fayetteville, Arkansas, six people were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds after a shooting early Sunday. Police said no arrests have been made and that a preliminary investigation indicates an altercation preceded the gunfire.
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