Four people were hospitalized and one person has died after a shooting just before midnight Friday in downtown Blacksburg, Virginia, near Virginia Tech, according to the university.
The Blackburn police department has since identified that Isiah Robinson,18, of Roanoke, Virginia was killed and the university has confirmed that a male student at the university was injured and entering surgery Saturday afternoon.
Blacksburg Police responded to reports of shots fired at Melody Hookah Lounge on Main Street, according to a police statement.
They have since identified a suspect, 24-year-old Jamel D. Flint of Roanoke, in the shooting death of Robinson. The Blacksburg Police Department added that six felony warrants — one count of murder in the first degree, one count use of of a firearm while committing or attempting to commit murder and four counts of attempted murder in the first degree.
Officials in Blacksburg brought Flint into custody nearly 24 hours after the shooting, saying that he was arrested in Roanoke without incident.
“Though Mr. Flint is in custody this continues to be an ongoing investigation and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Blacksburg Police Department,” the statement read.
Virginia Tech was placed on lockdown, the university tweeted warning students to stay indoors around midnight. The university lifted the lockdown around 3:15 a.m. but asked people to avoid going downtown as the investigation continues and informed students that transit would be limited.
The school has since confirmed that Blacksburg Transit has returned to normal operations and that the student injured in the shooting is doing well. Virginia Tech’s vice president for student affairs Frank Shushok Jr., said that they were grateful for the outpouring of support for the student, adding that they are working to support the community after the shooting.
“We can rarely control the challenges life brings our way, but our response is very much in our hands. I am proud of our community and grateful [for] how we pull together in difficult moments,” Shushok said.
The incident is being investigated as a homicide.
Police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact the Blacksburg Police Department at 540-443-1400 or to remain anonymous by call the department’s tip line at 540-961-1819 or email ciu@blacksburg.gov.
Virginia Tech was also subject to a deadly shooting on campus that killed 32 people in 2007.
Friday night’s shooting near Virginia Tech’s campus is the second case of a shooting on or near a Virginia college’s campus in less than a week. Two officers were killed when confronting a 27-year-old former student at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia on Tuesday. The victims were identified by the college as campus Police Officer John Painter and campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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