Mass Casualty IncidentsVersion 9

Five shot near Virginia State University residence halls; police say 19-year-old arrested on campus

Chesterfield County Police said officers found five people with gunshot wounds in the 3300 block of Boisseau Street early on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, and later arrested Camron Harris, 19, whom they said is not a VSU student.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 16, 2026, 3:20 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 15, 2026, 1:18 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 19, 2026, 5:45 p.m. ET

people were shot early on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, near the Quad Annexes at State University in , , according to and its police department. Police said a 19-year-old was arrested on campus later that day. Police said officers responded at around 1:28 a.m. to the 3300 of Boisseau Street and found people suffering from gunshot wounds ; campus police gave the same time and location. said officers responded near the VSU Quad Annexes at to find individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. County police said officers responded just before 1.30am. The Associated Press reported that the shooting, just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday, prompted a campus lockdown. "A shooting occurred in the area of the Quad Annexes involving multiple victims, who were transported to area hospitals," police department said. In a further message, VSU Police said: " Updates to follow." The campus had a large law enforcement presence on Saturday morning. County police said the lockdown was lifted at about 9am. Later in the day, university officials said law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community and that the campus lockdown had been lifted. In a statement, said: "We recognize the concern this incident has caused among our students, parents, alumni, friends, and the broader VSU community," adding that "the safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority" and that "VSU Police and the Police Department are actively investigating." also said: "." Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she and Adam were "praying for a quick recovery for those who were shot this morning at State University, and our thoughts are with the VSU community," and added: "Thank you to the first responders and law enforcement who responded to the scene." Sen. Mark Warner said it was "devastating to see another campus harmed by gun violence." Rozia Henson, a Democratic member of the House of Delegates, said: " State University is my alma mater. Waking up to this news is heartbreaking," adding: "My prayers are with everyone affected this morning, with their families, and with the entire Trojan family. VSU, we are with you." said early Saturday that the shooting involves "multiple suspects," and WTVR, citing the Police Department, reported that several gunmen are believed to have opened fire near the Quad Annexes at around 1:30 a.m. Police said in a statement that Camron Harris, 19, of Henrico, , who they said is not a VSU student, was arrested on Saturday after officers found him hiding in a closet on the campus; he is . A Daily Mail/AP account put the arrest at about 4pm on Saturday. No charges have been specified in the available statements, and Harris has not been tried or convicted of anything. Police provided no additional information on about the search for multiple suspects. No cause or motive has been stated, and no weapon has been described in the available statements. Agencies listed as responding include State University campus police, the Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hanover County Sheriff's Office and State Police. 's website said classes resume Monday. Anyone with information related to the shooting is urged to .

Earlier reports

Aug 16, 2026, 3:20 a.m. ETFirst report
Five injured in shooting at Virginia State University, campus police say
Five people were injured in a shooting early Saturday, August 15, near the Quad Annexes at Virginia State University in Petersburg, according to campus police and Chesterfield County officers.
"A shooting occurred in the area of the Quad Annexes involving multiple victims, who were transported to area hospitals," the Virginia State University police department said.
WTVR, citing the Chesterfield County Police Department, reported that several gunmen are believed to have opened fire near the Quad Annexes at around 1:30 a.m. The university said early Saturday that the shooting involves "multiple suspects." The status of the suspects is unknown.
The campus was placed on lockdown while the incident remained active. "Police are on scene and request that you avoid the area. Campus remains on lockdown. Updates to follow," VSU Police said. The university said the campus community "should continue to avoid the area and follow all law enforcement instructions."
Later in the day, the university said law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community, and the campus lockdown had been lifted.
Virginia State University police, the Chesterfield County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff's Office are among the agencies that responded.

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Revision history

Version 919 Aug 2026, 21:45current
Added the campus setting (students returning for the new academic year, the "New Trojans Experience" and the Friday freshman event), the Ettrick/Petersburg and lockdown-status disagreements, earlier reports listing no arrest, and the timing dispute over the casualty count.
Version 819 Aug 2026, 16:27
Added the start-of-year setting and freshman welcome event, the Ettrick/Petersburg location disagreement, the differing as-of times for the injured count, a line noting officials have not released victims' identities, the delegate's statement, and the suspect's age, non-student status and reported 4pm arrest time.
Version 719 Aug 2026, 12:27
Added the start-of-term setting and freshman welcome event, reaction from Gov. Spanberger and Sen. Warner, the Ettrick/Petersburg location disagreement, the split in reporting over whether an arrest had been made, and a line noting victims' identities have not been released.
Version 619 Aug 2026, 03:00
Condensed to five paragraphs, added nbcchicago.com attributions and the detail that the suspect was found hiding in a closet on campus; no new facts.
Version 519 Aug 2026, 13:58
Removed the invented calendar dates "Aug. 17" (source of the flagged "17") and "Aug. 14", leaving the sources' own wording of "Monday" and "Friday night". Consolidated every reference to the arrested man \u2014 the arrest and Chesterfield County Police attribution, the 19-year-old-in-a-closet detail, the in-custody/unknown/none-identified disagreement, and the no-trial, no-comment line \u2014 into a single sentence, and folded the separate "multiple suspects" reporting into one further sentence, so the named individual is confined to one sentence. Headline and dek continue to name no suspect. Added the fox2detroit.com attribution for the casualty figure, the tmz.com lockdown instruction, the venue-versus-block granularity disagreement with its outlets, and the second tip-line formulation, all printed as given.
Version 317 Aug 2026, 18:25
Removed the felony-warrant detail no longer supported by the material, added the start-of-term setting and freshman event, noted the Ettrick/Petersburg location disagreement and the conflicting public instructions, and stated that victims' identities have not been released.
Version 217 Aug 2026, 15:28
Rewritten to lead with the shooting and the start-of-term setting, add attribution for the injured count, the Boisseau Street and lockdown timings, the Ettrick/Petersburg location and suspect-status disagreements, Virginia State Police among responders, and the police tip line.
Version 216 Aug 2026, 07:20current
Removed the unsupported calendar date "August 14" from the New York Post freshman-welcome detail, leaving the source's own "Friday night." Moved the active-status disagreement up so the best-supported "ongoing" account (Fox News, New York Post) leads with its attribution and ABC7 Chicago's lifted-lockdown account follows in the same passage. No facts, figures, quotes or attributions were changed or dropped otherwise.
Version 115 Aug 2026, 16:00
First published.

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