Morgan State University students are checking in on loved ones and processing what happened at Tuesday night’s mass shooting that left four students and one other person injured.
The shooting occurred shortly after the annual coronation of the historically-Black university’s homecoming court at the Murphy Fine Arts Center.
Gabrielle Hall, a junior, wasn’t on campus when gunshots began to fire around 9:30 p.m. But her phone immediately flooded with group text messages from panicked peers.
“All the group chats were just blowing up, and everybody was just saying that they were scared and they didn't know what was going on,” Hall said.
Hall said many of her friends were attending the coronation event.
“Until my friends confirmed that they were okay, I was honestly on edge, I don't know if they were okay,” she said.
Torrey Rogers, a recent Morgan State graduate, attended Tuesday night’s celebrations to see his friends crowned in the homecoming court.
Rogers, a nephew of a WYPR employee, said he and his friends were taking pictures when they started to notice students running.
“I didn’t even hear anything, but I just saw people running, so we all ran,” he said. “I didn't really feel anything at first. It was just once I got home, that's when I started feeling like wow, this really happened. It’s not my first shoot-out, but this one hit very close to home.”
Hall said Wednesday was a designated “wellness day,” where classes are canceled so students can relax.
“It’s just devastating,” she said. “A day that was supposed to be set aside for us to relax, and not worry about the stressors of life and college ended up taking a negative turn.”
Hall said she has mixed feelings about police and campus security response to the shooting – especially about the SWAT team searching dorm rooms.
“On one hand, that was a positive because that was an increase in security,” she said. “But we're still traumatized during that time.”
Hall said students were already afraid of the shooter coming into their building.
“So how did they know that whoever's on the other side of the door wasn't a shooter?” she said.
University leaders have yet to announce whether homecoming events will continue this week.
Rogers said he hopes that student well-being and mental health will stay the focus of future responses.
“Don't make this a big thing about how Baltimore's too violent, Morgan is an unsafe campus,” he said. “Just remember to keep the students in mind, and keep our thoughts and our mental health in mind.”
