A night of partying in the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center at Grambling State University ended in chaos when a university police officer and a party-goer were shot at the ‘Pajama Jam’ party in the early morning hours of Friday, Oct. 18.
The suspected gunman, whose identity has yet to be released, is in custody now, according to the Louisiana State Police.
Louisiana State Police PIO Master Trooper Micheal Reichardt said a Grambling State University Police officer was shot in the leg and a non-student was shot twice.
“The officer suffered non-life threatening injuries,” Reichardt said. “The other victim was airlifted to Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport with serious injuries.”
According to students in attendance, shots were fired at approximately 12:55 a.m. in the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center hallway, where the party was being held, near the DJ booth.
Several ‘GSU Safety Alerts’ were sent out to students over an hour after the incident occurred.
“Our goal at Grambling State University is to provide a safe, enjoyable environment for our students,” GSU President Rick Gallot said. “To help in this effort, we will work with our student life and campus safety teams to grow our policies and procedures to better accommodate our student body.”
University Police were at the party. However, students report that police did not do security checks at the entry point.
Grambling State University Police Chief Jerry Melton, who took over the top job at the university police department earlier this month, released a statement this morning.
“Improving campus safety is an ongoing and active effort at Grambling State University,” Melton said. “We are grateful for the support of the City of Grambling, the City of Ruston, our Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police for the immediate and continuous support in our campus safety efforts. We look forward to sharing more information with our students and visitors who are preparing to visit our campus.”
Gallot encourages anyone with related information to contact University Police.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to those impacted by last night’s events both directly and indirectly. I encourage all of our campus and community to support Louisiana State Police in their investigation by calling (318) 274-2222 with any related information,” Gallot said.
The president and other university staff will be meeting today to discuss safety plans for homecoming and upcoming major events on campus.
The Gramblinite will provide updates as further details are released.