A university in Baltimore, Maryland, has revealed it will build a wall around its campus following a recent shooting in order to “keep out the bad actors.”
Morgan State University President David Wilson announced on Tuesday the university would be investing more than $22 million into building an 8,000-foot-long barrier that would encircle about 90% of the campus, according to the Associated Press.
Wilson’s announcement comes after a shooting on Oct. 3 left five people wounded, after Mister and Miss Morgan State University had been crowned during homecoming week festivities.
“We’re doing this, let me be clear, not to keep out our neighbors and our community writ large,” Wilson told students and faculty during a townhall event. “We are doing it to keep out the bad actors.”
In the wake of a shooting that left five people injured during homecoming festivities, Morgan State University announced a plan to build a wall around most of campus. https://t.co/Eqj85gRbRL
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 11, 2023
In addition to the wall, the campus will be installing additional metal detectors in buildings on campus, increasing police patrols, and placing additional security booths on campus as part of an effort to ensure student safety, university officials said, the AP reported.
Students from the historically black university flooded Wilson with questions about how the university could have prevented the shooting from occurring.
Gunfire erupted as students were walking from an auditorium on campus to the student center, according to the outlet. In the aftermath of the shooting, students were instructed to shelter in place and the university campus was placed on lockdown.
While no suspect has been apprehended, Baltimore police have since released photos of the people believed to be behind the shooting.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said they believe the shooting occurred as a “dispute between two smaller groups” and that the victims were “unintended targets.”
All the victims were released from local hospitals.
The university has about 9,000 students and was founded in 1867. Its initial mission was training men for ministry, according to its website. It moved to its current site in northeast Baltimore in 1917 and was purchased by the state of Maryland in 1939 with the intention of providing more opportunities for Black students.