Suspect Found Hiding in Campus Closet After VSU Shooting Leaves Five Wounded

A Campus Celebration Turned Crime Scene

The shooting happened just two days before Virginia State University's autumn semester was set to begin — a moment that should have been filled with anticipation and excitement. Residence halls had opened for students only a week earlier, and many had just completed the university's "New Trojans Experience" for incoming students. Instead, the early morning hours of Saturday, August 15, brought chaos and fear to the historic HBCU campus.

The shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. outside a university residence hall, and when police arrived, they found five people suffering from gunshot wounds. It happened near the university's Quad Annexes, where campus police and Chesterfield County officers discovered the victims outside campus dormitories. The shooting triggered an hours-long campus-wide lockdown, which the university lifted at 8:21 a.m.

A Suspect Found Hiding — Hours Later

A suspect was found hiding in a closet on campus hours after the shooting. The Chesterfield County Police Department identified him as Camron Harris, 19, of Henrico, Virginia, discovered in a closet in Seward Hall — a residence hall on the school's campus — at about 4 p.m., more than 12 hours after the shooting was reported. Police confirmed he is not a student at the university.

Harris was taken to the Chesterfield County Jail, where police obtained eight felony warrants — four for malicious wounding and four for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Authorities said additional charges may come in the future, and he is being held without bond. Before Harris' arrest, police had indicated the incident was not a drive-by shooting and that they were searching for multiple shooters. As of Sunday, August 16, authorities have provided no additional information about other potential suspects.

The Victims and the Community's Response

One person — a 21-year-old man who was initially listed as having life-threatening injuries — was upgraded to critical condition. The other victims included a 23-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old. One of those wounded was a 20-year-old VSU student who sustained non-life-threatening injuries and has been released from the hospital. The four other victims are not students at the school.

Virginia State University is a historically Black university in Ettrick, about 24 miles south of the state capital of Richmond. The university said in a statement that law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community, adding: "We recognize the concern this incident has caused among our students, parents, alumni, friends, and the broader VSU community." The university also announced an increased police presence on campus, urging students to monitor their VSU email for additional safety measures and information about available support resources.

Questions That Still Need Answers

Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive. The university had stated earlier that authorities were searching for multiple suspects, but police provided no additional information. That gap leaves the community in an uneasy position — one arrest made, but the full picture still unclear. Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to contact Chesterfield County Police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.

Classes at Virginia State are set to resume on Monday, August 17 — just one day away. For students, faculty, and families, the start of a new academic year will now be shadowed by the memory of a violent night and the unsettling reality that more suspects may still be unaccounted for. How the university responds in the coming days — in terms of both security and community support — will say a great deal about its commitment to the safety of its students.