Authorities are trying to find the person who fatally shot two young men at Grambling State University in northern Louisiana early Wednesday.
One victim was identified as Earl Andrews, 23, a Grambling State University senior from Farmerville, Louisiana, university spokesman Will Sutton said.
The other victim was identified as Monquiarious Caldwell, another 23-year-old from Farmerville. Caldwell was not a student at the university, Sutton said.
They were discovered in a courtyard between two dorm buildings, said Stephen Williams, a spokesman for the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“This tragic incident appears to have occurred between persons that knew each other, to some extent at least,” Lincoln Parish Sheriff Mike Stone said.
“There are no indicators that this incident bears any resemblance to any of the random acts of violence or domestic terrorism that have been experienced around our country in recent weeks.”
Caldwell was visiting Andrews, CNN affiliate KSLA reported.
Based on preliminary information gathered at the scene, the shooting followed an altercation that started inside one of the adjacent dormitories, Williams said.
Sutton said authorities were alerted to the shooting by a female student who called the Grambling State University police chief on his cell phone.
“This is a horrible tragedy … our prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sutton told CNN affiliate KTBS.
“There’s no place for violence on the Grambling State University campus. We always encourage our students to be safe, to be aware, to watch who they hang out with, and to watch who’s around at all times. And this is a most unfortunate situation.”
Grambling State has an enrollment of about 5,200 students. The university’s homecoming activities started Sunday, and events are scheduled through Saturday, Sutton said.
In a statement, school President Richard J. Gallot Jr. said police and security would be increased on campus. The administration also plans to seek input from the university community on ways to further enhance campus security, he said.
“In the meantime, I ask that you do what we as the ‘GramFam’ have always done: look out for one another,” Gallot said.
Victim’s sister: He ‘is at peace right now’
Caldwell’s mother, Alicia Cain, told KSLA that another one of her children died from gun violence years ago.
“It made me think back to nine years when I lost my first son,” she said of the recent shooting.
Cain said she was “just begging the Lord ‘don’t let it be my baby. Not my baby boy.'”
Andrews’ grandmother, Sadie Warren, said her grandson will be missed. “But I know God picked a beautiful flower,” Warren told KSLA.
“Earl Andrews is at peace right now,” his sister, Quanice, said at a vigil on campus Wednesday night.
