 A student who did not want to be identified walks past the scene of a fatal shooting that occured late Sunday in front of Arkansas Hall at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) |
By Jon Gambrell
Associated Press
CONWAY, Ark. — The head of the University of Central Arkansas said Monday “our campus is safe” after a shooting left two students dead and a third person wounded. Police said there was no ongoing threat and that they were questioning two people.
Police said officers were seeking two more suspects, all male and from the central Arkansas area. Police said they were not students.
Police had no motive yet for the shooting.
“It does not seem at this time that it was a random act,” said campus police Lt. Preston Grumbles.
University police Lt. Rhonda Swindle said two people were being questioned Monday morning but that neither was under arrest. One was pulled over by police during the night and another turned himself in, authorities said. Police said they believed they knew the identity of the other two suspects.
One victim died on the sidewalk along a narrow alley between the dormitory and a fine arts center. Police said the two other victims rushed into the dorm, where paramedics found them.
Swindle identified the dead as Ryan Henderson, 18, and Chavares Block, 19 - both students. A non-student, Martrevis Norman of Blytheville, was shot in one leg and was released from a hospital after treatment.
“This is just an awful tragedy. It’s the worst thing that can happen on a college campus,” said interim president Tom Courtway said. “We have start looking at everything.”
Courtway canceled Monday’s classes at the 12,500-student campus.
The campus was quiet Monday morning. Police cars cruised its quiet streets and officers roamed the grounds in flak jackets.
“The UCA campus itself is not locked down, although officers are posted at every campus entrance, and access to campus is limited to residents and authorized personnel,” Sabin said in an e-mail early Monday.
Student Aprille Hanson, 20, of Mountain Home said the shooting was “definitely an eye-opener” in the quiet city of Conway, about 30 miles north of Little Rock.
“This campus is very safe. I’ve never felt afraid on this campus,” Hanson said. “Everyone’s going to be a little more tense.”
Faculty and students received calls and e-mails through an automated system shortly after 9:30 p.m. Sunday warning them of the shooting and urging them to stay inside behind locked doors. School spokesman Warwick Sabin said it was the first use of the university’s new emergency e-mail and phone call system, purchased last year after the Virginia Tech massacre.
Swindle said video captured by surveillance cameras installed at the campus after the massacre would be examined.
It was the second shooting at an Arkansas college this year. On Feb. 27, a man was wounded at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Two suspects were charged. The victim, James Earl Matthews, was released after surgery.