Worcester State University will remain closed after a double shooting in a parking garage early Saturday morning.
Two people were injured in the incident and were transported to UMass Medical Center according to Massachusetts State Police.
Authorities are expected to provide an update on the situation at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday
State police initially said a suspect was in custody Saturday morning but later clarified that the case was still under investigation and that investigators were still “still probing all the facts and circumstances of the incident.”
State police said the shooting happened during an altercation and was not an active shooter situation. Neither of the victims are students, according to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.
All campus events, including homecoming and family weekend, have been canceled.
The shelter in place order that was issued early Saturday morning has been lifted.
Earlier, the university issued this alert at 2:49 a.m.: “Shelter In Place is in effect /All buildings. Immediately proceed to a secure location on the interior of the building. Please do not go outdoors and remain away from windows or openings to the outside. Await further instructions. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
The message, shared on the Worcester State University website, was also shared on its social media.
The university said in an update at 5:15 a.m. that there was not an immediate threat at the campus, but the shelter-in-place order remained in effect.
The update posted to the university website also asked for anyone with information about the lot at Wasylean Hall, a dormitory on campus, to contact university staff and police at the Sheehan Multipurpose Room in the Sheehan Residence Hall.
Counseling resources are available, the update said. It ended by noting, “The campus community will be advised of further details as they become available.”
The school posted another update shortly before 7:30 a.m. saying that the university will be closed Saturday “due to and [sic] ongoing incident. ALL Uniersity eents, on and off campus, are cancelled.” They did not say if the shelter in place was still in effect.
A large police presence was seen on campus about an hour after the warning was posted Saturday morning. Law enforcement agents in marked and unmarked vehicles lined the campus roads near Wasylean Hall.
NBC10 Boston
Worcester State is located on 58 acres in the northwest side of the city, according to its website. The campus has 10 buildings, including four residence halls, and enrolls about 6,200 students.
Founded as a teacher-training school in 1874, it became a liberal arts and sciences college and was known as Worcester State College until 2010, when Massachusetts made all its state colleges into universities.
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