HOUSTON, Texas – Students at Texas Southern University (TSU) are expressing fear after a third shooting since the beginning of this school year. On Friday, 18-year-old freshman Brent Randall was shot and killed along with another student who was wounded. The shooting occurred at a student apartment complex located on the edge of the university campus.
Breitbart Texas reported that a shooting had taken place just before noon on Friday. The university was on lock down for some period of time until it was determined that there was no active shooter on campus. It was initially reported that police had one suspect in custody.
Police officials now say they have two suspects in custody and are searching for a third, according to KTRK ABC13. Investigators told reporters that a argument between the five people led to three of them opening fire on two others.
Police are seeking a third suspect after taking two people into custody. The suspected is described as a black male, aged 22-25. He is said to be six feet tall and weighs between 180-190 pounds. He is described as having dreadlocks and was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants.
Another student was wounded in a separate shooting on campus that occurred on Tuesday night. That shooting occurred during an argument on the campus’ Tiger Walk. A third shooting happened a few weeks earlier, Breitbart Texas previously reported.
In the Tiger Walk shooting, KTRK reports that police are searching for a 19-year-old Darios Tramain Crayton Scott. That incident began as two men argued over shoes. Scott allegedly opened fire, striking the other student twice in the stomach. Scott had previously been a student at TSU but was not currently enrolled at the university. Scott had been participating in a poetry jam. The shooting happened seconds after he left the event.
Students are expressing fear following the three shootings and the death of a university freshman.
“We went outside to go see them and one person didn’t wake up. The other person was talking to the police,” Nate Sweets told KTRK. Sweets is a student who was in his room at Tierwester Oaks when he heard the gunfire. “I came to school to get an education and learn. I didn’t know it’s a bad environment.”
Another student, Jasmine Williams, told KTRK, “It’s scary. It is because you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time, because a bullet doesn’t have a name on it.”
@Kendraa_Nicole posted on Twitter, “never in my life thought I’d be exposed to so many shootings wile away at college.”
@_dafineBRI tweeted, “I can’t even go to my apartments cuz hall out here acting crazy. Please yall, whatever yall arguing over is not worth killing folks.”
@_Bonbshell_ tweeted, “It’s not the fact that people are scared it’s the fact that we shouldn’t have to worry about our safety at our place of education.”
TSU President John M. Rudley was quick to shift responsibility for the three recent shootings on his campus. Two of these shootings have claimed the lives of students whose safety he is responsible for. Rather than addressing the behavior of students and a culture that seems to condone shooting people for their shoes, Rudley quickly turned to the easy out of blaming the gun.
“Too many guns are accessible to students and to people in general in our community,” Dr. Rudley told KTRK. “I talk to students and they say guns can be bought for $1-300 dollars. Everyone can get one.”
Rudley admitted that another student had been shot to death at the same student apartment complex as Friday’s shooting. That shooting occurred on August 27. A man and a woman were shot when a suspect opened fire on a crowd. LaKeytric Quinn died from his injuries two days later. Alenandra Nicks was treated and released from the hospital after the shooting. Darrius Nichols, 20, was taken into custody by university police who arrived on the scene and stopped the shooting.
Rudley made no mention of any actions he might take to try and make the campus a safer place. Currently the school is a gun-free zone where students who might have a concealed handgun license are not able to defend themselves.
One Twitter user, TxSU Followtrain @TxSUFollowtrain, demanded action. “We are tired of the cover ups going on at Texas Southern. This shooting right on campus shows we need HELP!!”
Other TSU students took to Twitter to defend the school. One person, KATO @reggiequenez, tweeted “We need to stop pointing fingers. TSU not bad. It’s individuals with bad intentions.”
@aj_dallas tweeted, “#TxSU is a good school. It’s just the surrounding area.” @ImJustLegendary tweeted “Do not call the students of Texas Southern hoodrats and thugs. Cause I’m definitely not one!”
Houston police continue to search for the third suspect in Friday’s shooting.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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