World

Multiple shooters and five shot at a US university

By PATRICK WHITTLE

Aug 16, 2026

Police vehicle — Police are investigating an on-campus shooting ahead of the new academic year beginning. -AP

Five people have been shot at Virginia State University in the US, prompting a temporary campus lockdown as police responded to an incident involving multiple suspects.

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County police said officers discovered five people with gunshot wounds outside campus dormitories when they arrived.

The five victims were transported to hospital, with one initially listed as having life-threatening injuries and has been upgraded to critical condition, county police said.

The other victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The university said in a statement that the shooting involves "multiple suspects".

The campus had a large law enforcement presence on Saturday morning.

Virginia State University is a historically black university located in Ettrick, Virginia, about 38.6 km south of the state capital of Richmond.

The public university has about 5700 students and was the first fully state-supported four-year college for black Americans. Most of its students are undergraduates.

The shootings happened just before the start of the academic year at Virginia State.

According to the university's website, residence halls opened for students a week ago and classes are set to begin on Monday.