Law enforcement officers believe they caught the person responsible for shooting a man outside a university Halloween party, leaving him seriously wounded and injuring three others. The event, requiring student ID’s for entrance, nevertheless attracted a large number of locals, including the suspect and victim.
Despite the crowded environment, school officials say no students were hurt during the incident. The shooting took place at approximately 11:45 p.m. on October 31st, as the Black Student Assembly was throwing a “Freaks or Geeks” costumed Halloween party inside the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. Before the attack, over four hundred students had packed inside the building for the event, and a line of at least one hundred more people had formed outside waiting to get in.
Flyers for the “Freak or Greek” party advertised it as a safer alternative to the rowdier events occurring by the Fraternity Houses, with campus security providing protection for the gathering. As an added precaution, entrance to the event required a university ID.
Despite the safety measures, witnesses claim that a large number of non-students were waiting in line or had already been turned away at the door. One such group included a former high school athletic standout and local LA hero, who was attending a nearby community college. While waiting in line outside the party, witnesses say the former football star got into a heated argument with another local. The other man allegedly pulled a gun out his pocket and fired upon the victim, causing a panicked flight from the scene.
Campus security alleges that they grabbed the shooter and another man attempting to leave on foot, taking them into custody until the investigation is complete. The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, including seven gunshot wounds. Four other bystanders sustained minor injuries in the chaos, and were released by paramedics at the scene.
The incident is not the first violent assault this year, after two graduate students were murdered during what is believed to have been an attemptedrobbery in April. Only a week after that tragedy, a man was arrested after robbing several students at gunpoint and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Campus officials say they are reconsidering several school policies in an effort to increase security.
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