Multiple people were shot at the historically black college Morgan State University in Baltimore Tuesday night, and the suspected shooter is still on the loose.

The Baltimore Police Department said officers were on the scene for an “active shooter situation” on the campus of the historically Black university. The address given for the shooting appeared to match a residential building.

“We’re asking everyone to shelter in place and avoid the area,” police said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

At least four people have been confirmed to be hit as of this writing, though their conditions are not known. 

At least four people were shot at Morgan State University in Baltimore tonight. Reporters spoke to a witness who said the bullets hit the glass behind his head.pic.twitter.com/ZCUokANHjp

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 4, 2023

Students have been ordered to shelter in place:

At the scene Tuesday night, officers were blocking off the south entrance to campus near dorm buildings while a police helicopter circled overhead.

Ish Sargent, 20, who lives nearby, said she and her friends came outside when they heard the helicopter. They didn’t hear gunshots. Sargent said she doesn’t usually worry about gun violence in the area.

“At a school though, that’s crazy,” she said. “People just out here shooting.”

Morgan State bills itself on its website as a multicultural university in a “charming residential area of northeast Baltimore.”  

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution providing instruction to a multiethnic, multiracial, multinational student body and offering more than 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan fulfills its mission to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment through intense community-level study and pioneering solutions. 

The school warned students to be vigilant:

Please Note: An active investigation is currently underway related to a report of shots being fired on or near campus. Please stay clear of the area surrounding Thurgood Marshall Hall and the Murphy Fine Arts Center and shelter in place. pic.twitter.com/MI37wuaLVV

— Morgan State University (@MorganStateU) October 4, 2023

The shooting happened even as the community was celebrating homecoming festivities:

The shooting happened amid a week of activities ahead of the school’s homecoming game on Saturday. The coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State was scheduled for Tuesday night at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, one of the areas the school urged people to avoid after the shooting.

Parents were naturally concerned about their kids:

Glenmore Blackwood came to the campus after hearing from his son, a senior who told him the shooting occurred just as festivities for the coronation were concluding.

Blackwood said his son was sheltering in place in the arts center’s auditorium. He sang in the ceremony and was planning to host a prayer service afterward.

“That’s my son. He’s going to make sure I know he’s OK,” Blackwood said. “It’s just sad. They were doing a good thing — an event to promote positivity — and all this negativity happens.”

This is a breaking story, and RedState will bring you updates as they come in. Hopefully, we will not have more tragic news to report.

UPDATE 12:17 AM EST: New information continues to come in. Baltimore councilman Ryan Dorsey posted that there are five victims, but none of them have life-threatening injuries and that it is possible that as many as three unidentified shooters were involved:

Just received a call from BPD about a shooting at the Morgan campus. Five victims, none critical.

It’s believed there were three shooters firing into the crowd, none apprehended or ID’d at this time.

Please stay clear of the area.

— Ryan Dorsey (@ElectRyanDorsey) October 4, 2023