Two separate shootings at South Carolina State University left a 19-year-old woman dead and a man in hospital.
Gunshots were heard on Saturday evening near the Hugine Suites, an on-campus housing facility, prompting authorities to put the area on lockdown.
Jaliyah Butler, 19, was shot dead in one of the two incidents that police currently believe are not connected.
The teen’s mother Heather Weaver shared an emotional message on social media, asking for people to keep her family in their prayers.
“Yes it’s true my baby Jaliyah Butler is gone! Please don’t call or message me if you isn’t direct family! Thanks! Keep my family in your prayers, please!,” she wrote.
“To know I’ll never get to hear my baby Jaliyah Butler to tell me she love me again!,” she said in another post. “I just can’t stomach that! Baby girl I wish this was a dream.”
Bulter was pronounced dead at MUSC Health Orangeburg with an autopsy to follow later this week.
Both Butler and the unnamed man injured in the other shooting were guests on the SC State University campus, according to Live 5 WCSC. The injured man was taken to hospital for treatment though it is not clear how serious his condition is.
An 18 year-old, Matthew Daniel McCoy, was arrested and charged Sunday with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person and carrying a weapon on school property.
A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrest warrant said McCoyhad a loaded Glock handgun in his vehicle, which he allegedly used to shoot at an unidentified male twice.
SC State President Alexander Conyers said in a statement: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the young woman who lost her life and to all who have been affected.
“We are cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate these senseless acts of violence. We know this tragedy has shaken our Bulldog Family, and we are providing counseling and support for anyone in need. I ask everyone to continue caring for one another.”
One student told Live 5 WCSC that she saw “everybody running” after hearing the gunshots.
“ I ain’t about to just stay there while everybody running, so I just took off and then we were running,” student Xiyelle Wright said. “We heard a gunshot, and we just kept running.”
Several events on campus, including the Homecoming concert, have been cancelled following the shootings.
As the investigation continues, Democrat U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn said that the “scourge of violence” needs to end.
“We know something fundamental needs to change to protect South Carolinians from these kinds of tragedies,” he said on social media. “The scourge of violence must end, and it is incumbent upon all of us to do what is right to safeguard our communities.”
