Police in Virginia arrested a 19-year-old man after finding him hiding in a dormitory closet in connection with a shooting at Virginia State University that left five people wounded, including one critically injured.

Camron Harris of Henrico, Virginia, was arrested Saturday after authorities found him hiding inside a dormitory on the university campus, Chesterfield County Police said. Harris is not a Virginia State University student, and four of the five people wounded in the shooting were also not students.

The victims ranged in age from 17 to 23. One of those injured, a 20-year-old university student, was treated at a hospital and later released. Authorities had not publicly identified any of the victims.

Police said they obtained eight felony warrants against Harris, including charges of malicious wounding and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Authorities had not released information about a possible motive, and it was not immediately clear whether Harris had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

The shooting happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. Saturday near the university’s Quad Annexes. Campus police and Chesterfield County officers found five people suffering from gunshot wounds outside campus dormitories.

The shooting prompted a campus lockdown as students were preparing for the start of the new academic year. University officials initially said authorities were searching for multiple suspects, although police had not provided further details about the investigation or whether additional suspects remained at large.

Officials later said law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community, and the lockdown was lifted.

The university said residence halls had opened a week earlier and classes were scheduled to resume Monday. Many students had recently taken part in the school’s “New Trojans Experience” program for incoming students.

“We recognize the concern this incident has caused among our students, parents, alumni, friends, and the broader VSU community,” the university said in a statement, adding that the safety and well-being of students remained its highest priority.

A large law enforcement presence remained on campus Saturday morning. Students were instructed to monitor their university email for additional safety information and details about support services.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office were assisting with the investigation, according to county police.

Virginia State University is a historically Black university in Ettrick, about 24 miles (39 kilometers) south of Richmond. The public university has about 5,700 students and was the first fully state-supported four-year college for Black Americans.

Arthur Fridrich, a former university director of distance education who lives near the campus, said the shooting was particularly painful for the community because it occurred as students were returning for the new school year.

He expressed hope that those injured would recover and that the shooting would not define their lives or their experience at the university.

SOURCE: Associated Press (AP), August 16, 2026.