UPDATE APRIL 30, 2025: The man who was shot and killed this weekend in a mass shooting at Elizabeth City State University has been identified as Isaiah Caldwell, 24. Caldwell was not an ECSU student and was visiting from Albany, New York at the time of the shooting, reports WITN.
No suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, although investigators have identified people of interest who aren’t believed to be students at the school, reports Spectrum Local News.
Classes at ECSU were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday and transitioned to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, reports WAVY. Exams will be delivered virtually. Counseling services are being made available for those impacted by the shooting.
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — One person was killed and six others were injured in a weekend shooting at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU).
The incident occurred on campus shortly before 12:30 a.m. Sunday following an event for “Viking Fest,” a week of school spirit events at the university. A campus police officer contacted central communications to report shots fired outside Williams Hall, which is located in the center of campus, The Daily Advance reports.
Four of the injured sustained gunshot wounds, including three ECSU students, according to a press release from the school. Two other ECSU students were injured as people fled. All of the injured were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Three have since been discharged, according to a spokesperson for Sentara Health.
A 24-year-old man, who was not an ECSU student, was killed. His identity is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin.
The university issued a campus lockdown and shelter-in-place order for all students following the shooting. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, including the Elizabeth City Police Department, Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The lockdown was lifted later Sunday after officials deemed the campus safe.
ECSU increased patrols across campus as a precaution and support services were made available for students, faculty, and staff at the school’s Mickey L. Burnim Fine Arts Center.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is asking people with information, photos, or videos related to the incident to contact them at 919-662-4500 or to contact ECSU Police at 252-335-3266. No information has been released regarding a suspect.
ECSU, which is part of the University of North Carolina system, is a historically Black university with just over 2,000 students.
