PEMBROKE – A former student at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke died following a shooting Wednesday in an apartment complex near the school’s campus, according to the college.
As of 7 p.m. Thursday, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office had not disclosed the name of the victim, but the university confirmed that the individual was a former UNC-Pembroke student.
————————————————————————————————————-
Sign up for our eNewsletter and have headlines, breaking news alerts and sports stories sent directly to your email. CLICK HERE for details.
—————————————————————————————————————
The Pine Needle, the campus newspaper, identified the victim as Khalil Alford, 19, by his friend Asa Locklear. He was well known and a Soundcloud rapper, the Pine Needle reported on Wednesday.
“He was beloved on campus and had an extended family on campus, through his friends. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Locklear told the campus newspaper.
The UNC-Pembroke Campus Police responded to a shots fired call at Courtyard Apartments, the school said. That was reportedly around 4:43 p.m., and once they arrived, police officers found shell casings.
They did not find a shooter or a victim.
Soon after, published accounts said deputies with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office responded to another incident involving a victim needing medical attention. That individual later died from his injuries.
The school later posted that the campus was “safe and secure.”
The media contact for the Sheriff’s Office did not return a phone message seeking additional comments.
Classes that got under way before 11 a.m. on Thursday were canceled because of the incident.
In a statement posted Thursday on The UNC-Pembroke Brave Alert, Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings wrote:
“Yesterday afternoon, UNC-P Police and Public Safety were notified of shots fired at Courtyard Apartments and responded. UNC-P Police issued an “all clear” to campus at approximately 5:50 p.m.
“First, please know, it remains there is no longer an immediate threat to campus. And all facilities on campus are operating and open as normal. The State Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate and is being assisted by the Robeson County Police (Sheriff’s Office).
“It’s with a heavy heart I share a member of our campus community subsequently died from injuries sustained in the incident. Though not actively enrolled in classes this semester, the victim was a student last semester and will always be considered a member of BraveNation. I hope you will join me in keeping him and his family in your hearts and prayers during this difficult time. We are waiting for confirmation from authorities before we can share more information.”
Concern over previous gunfire
During the Dec. 4 regular monthly meeting of the Pembroke Town Council, a student who attends the University of North Carolina at Pembroke told the town leaders that someone was going to die if something wasn’t done to help protect those students and residents who live in apartment buildings across from campus.
The student, her father and another UNCP student spoke about the troubling situation during a public comments portion of the meeting.
Those three concerned individuals and their exact location in Pembroke were not named because of concerns of retaliation.
During the council meeting, the daughter who attends the college recounted what had transpired over the previous weekend.
“So, I’m laying in bed. It’s 1 or 2 a..m. I hear about 10 gunshots right outside my window,” the young woman said. “I run into my roommate’s room. She’s already got the police on the phone. Some moments pass, and I look out. I see a man standing outside with an assault rifle. Right outside my window.
“As soon as I see that, I step back and said, ‘Oh, my God. He has an AR.’ As soon as I said that,” she added, “10 more shots were fired. We’re on the ground. All I know to do is sit down and cover. We go and hide in the bathroom for the remainder of the night. I’m very familiar with guns, and I know it’s an AR. My dad has trained me in gun safety. He has spent the majority of his career either deployed or training for deployment. So I’m very familiar with guns.”
Following a pause and deep sigh, she said, “Sorry. I just cannot wrap my head around there only being four or five policemen for the whole city of Pembroke. But yet 21 for campus. I’m tired of the excuse that campus can’t help us. ‘It’s not in our jurisdiction.’ We are students. We cannot live on campus. There is no room on campus. These are built for us. You cannot use the excuse, ‘That is not in our jurisdiction.’
“A student is going to die,” she then blurted out. “A student could have died last night (Dec. 3). The shots could have gone through my window and killed me as soon as I looked out the window. I feel like the adults who are supposed to be keeping me safe are not keeping me safe. I truly thought I was going to die that night. I didn’t know if he was going to shoot up the apartment, shoot through the window or anything.”
In a separate conversation the day after the council meeting, Interim Pembroke Police Chief Adrian Hunt said his department had increased patrols in the area of the students’ apartment building.
“We’re currently trying to get an armed security company to patrol out there so they have them on site,” Hunt said on that day. “We’ve spoken with them (the apartment company) about what they should be doing as far as keeping some of the locals who don’t live there with vehicle passes. They say they tow when people don’t have a parking pass for the parking lot.”
‘A place where students feel safe’
On Thursday, the chancellor added in his statement posted on UNC-Pembroke Brave Alert:
“Like me, I’m sure many of you are devastated by yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) tragic incident. Our campus should be a place where students feel safe and at home and anything less is unacceptable. We know this incident has raised safety concerns, and as we always do, we will access and we will use that information to improve our service to our campus community. Our hearts are with the family of our fellow Brave, those who knew him personally and those who are traumatized by this senseless act of violence. Please know if you need support, resources are available to you, and I strongly encourage you to reach out.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0