Dice game erupts in violence on Tennessee State campus
One person was killed and three wounded apparently when a dice game led to gunfire on the Nashville campus. Police are characterizing the shooting as an 'isolated incident.'
Officials investigate the scene of a shooting on the campus of Tennessee State University, early Friday, in Nashville, Tenn. Authorities say one person was killed and two others hospitalized in the Thursday shooting at an outdoor courtyard. A campus spokesperson said the person killed wasn't enrolled at the school.
Mark Humphrey/AP
A dispute over a simple dice game apparently left one man dead and three women wounded on the campus of Tennessee State University on Thursday night, according to authorities.
The 19-year-old man who died was not a student at the school, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. The suspect fled the scene and authorities are still unsure if he or she is a student at TSU.
Witnesses said an altercation from the dice game escalated into a fistfight, and then – shots. The incident happened at a courtyard on the main campus in Nashville around 10:50 p.m.
The three wounded women are believed to have been "innocent passers-by," according to police spokesman Don Aaron. One suffered a graze wound and didn’t necessitate medical attention, but the other two were rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with more serious injuries. One has since been released and the other is in stable condition and expected to fully recover, according to Mr. Aaron.
"This was an isolated shooting incident in a courtyard," Aaron said. "There were never, we believe, any other students in danger in dormitories or elsewhere on campus."
Police have obtained videos by several witnesses capturing the fight and encourage others to share more video and information.
"The person who fired those shots put innocent persons in extreme danger in this isolated incident," Aaron said. "We're hoping that TSU students that have this video, have this knowledge, understand that this person put them in danger tonight, and will report what they know."
Authorities do not have a clear description of the suspect yet and were unsure if there was an exchange of gunfire. They are waiting on the proper evidence to be analyzed.
The police expect to finish their on-site investigation by Friday morning and the campus should operate normally. They intend to share the identity of the man killed later on Friday.
The shooting comes about a week after three were injured by gunfire at a party just across the street from campus.
This report contains material from the Associated Press.