06 February 2024 , 18:13
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Shots have reportedly been fired at South Carolina State University, resulting in a complete campus lockdown as the authorities search for a gunman wearing a black ski mask, reports suggest.
ABC 4 reported that the alert system for nearby Claflin University revealed to students that shots had been fired at SC State, but the authorities have not yet confirmed those claims. The authorities are on the scene.
Claflin went on lockdown at the same time, the outlet reported, adding that officials said the suspect is dressed in all black, including the ski mask. Students were reportedly told to "shelter in place as police investigate," according to the alert.
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The lockdown reportedly at 11:30am local time, according to and was lifted by 12:26pm, a university spokesperson told The Mirror US..
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It remains unclear what kind of gun the suspect is carrying or where on campus the shots were fired. The Mirror US has reached out to the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Department for more information but did not immediately hear back.
The university itself, however, released a statement about the incident, stating that there were no injuries and that everything was wrapped up in under an hour, a suspect apprehended and charged.
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President Joe Biden gave a commencement speech at South Carolina University in 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)Spokesperson Sam Watson wrote: "South Carolina State University officials locked down the campus on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, after receiving a report of shots fired in an academic building.
"No injuries were reported. Campus Police responded and immediately subdued the suspected shooter in a foot chase, neutralizing any further threat to safety.
"The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety later charged SC State sophomore Rolanda J. Ifill, 19, Charleston, South Carolina, with carrying a firearm on school property."
The release added that more charges could be accrued by the teen and that the investigation is ongoing, with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division assisting campus police and the local authorities.
SC State is a historically Black college in the state, founded in 1896, according to its website. It boasts over 2,900 students and markets itself as the home of "generations of scholars and leaders in business, military service, government, athletics, education, medicine, science, engineering technology and more."
It's located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and is a land-grant college. Orangeburg is about 43 miles (69km) southeast of the capital of Columbia. It remains unclear if the shooting was racially motivated or not.
In 2021, President Joe Biden gave a commencement speech at the university, which may have been an early part of his plan to win Black voters over. It was Black voters in South Carolina who changed the course of his 2020 presidential run, helping him to earn the coveted nomination from the Democratic Party.
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