A Montgomery man has been arrested in connection with a shooting at Tuskegee University this weekend that killed one person and left 16 injured. (Getty Images)
A 25-year-old man was arrested late Sunday in connection with the weekend shooting at Tuskegee University that killed one person and left 16 others injured.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement that Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery was found with a handgun that contained a device that transformed it into a machine gun. According to ALEA, Myrick faces a federal charge of possession of a machine gun. The charges had not appeared in online federal or state court records as of Monday morning, a federal holiday.
The shooting occurred early Sunday morning, the weekend of homecoming for the school. An 18-year-old was killed and 16 others were injured. At least 12 of those were wounded by gunfire and transported to hospitals in Montgomery and Lee counties.
Tuskegee University has canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday. The school said in a statement Monday morning it would provide grief counselors on campus and planned to have town halls hosted by Tuskegee President Mark A. Brown.
“As we navigate this challenge as a family, keep your classmates in mind as some work to heal physically and mentally from this event,” the statement said. “The same applies to faculty and staff. The university experienced an exceptional Homecoming weekend, and this event has tarnished it. Asking for help is a sign of strength and not weakness. Standing strong together is also the Tuskegee Way.”
The Alabama Legislature may consider legislation next year filed by Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, that would make it a state crime to use a device known as a trigger activator, or Glock switch, which rapidly increases the rate of fire from a weapon. Calls for the law grew after a mass shooting in Birmingham last September that left four people dead and 17 injured. Ensler introduced a similar bill in the legislative session spring. The bill passed the Alabama House but not the Senate.
U.S. Rep.-elect Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, whose district includes Macon County, the home of Tuskegee, wrote in a statement Sunday that he would work to provide resources for “root causes” and “those that commit gun crimes.”
“It’s incredibly sad that families had to wake up this morning with their lives shattered. Gun violence is ripping apart too many communities and taking far too many lives, especially the lives of young black people,” he wrote. “This is a problem we must address together as a community. Everyone has a role to play: parents, government officials, law enforcement, coaches, schools, clergy, businesses, community leaders and organizations, and residents.”
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said in a statement that he felt “deep sorrow and outrage” at news of the shooting.
“This is a call to action, and it will take all of us as a community, and as residence of the State of Alabama working together to stop gun violence, especially addresses the sale and use of rapid-fire guns and conversion devices that turning our communities into combat zones,” the statement said. “I am committed to working with local authorities and community leaders to implement strategies that prevent future instances of gun violence and to ensure that our students feel safe while pursuing their education.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alabama has the fourth-highest rate of firearm deaths in the nation, with 25.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. Alabama had more total gun deaths that year than New York State, which has almost four times the population of Alabama.
ALEA is being assisted by Tuskegee University Police Department, Tuskegee Police Department, Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Mobile Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Fifth Judicial Circuit and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. ALEA is asking for anyone with information to submit tips at 1-800-CALL-FBI and upload digital files at fbi.gov/tuskegeeshooting24.