Three N.C. universities were on lockdown last week after gunmen were reportedly spotted on each campus — but outcomes ranged from a student being shot to an umbrella being mistaken for a rifle.
Shots were reportedly fired on Elizabeth City State University’s campus Thursday night, and the school went into lockdown. No students were injured, according to a university news release.
The campus went into lockdown again Saturday night, and one student was shot and taken to the hospital. The student, 23-year-old Jake Laumoli, has been released from the hospital, according to the release.
The release said the shooting was in retaliation for a fight that occurred earlier that night. It is unclear if the two lockdowns this weekend were related.
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University also went into lockdown Friday morning when a gunman was spotted on campus. But upon reviewing video footage, police said the rifle was an umbrella.
Deanna Ho, a sophomore at N.C. A&T, said her classroom was evacuated because it had windows. She also said SWAT teams searched dorms.
“They didn’t know if it was real, so I’m glad they went through all the precautions,” Ho said.
A few hours after N.C. A&T’s lockdown was lifted, N.C. Central University went into lockdown on Friday afternoon, following an attempted armed robbery.
Meredith Clark, a UNC-CH journalism Ph.D. student, was teaching a class at NCCU when the lockdown began.