One dead, 7 wounded in shooting near Fort Valley State University during homecoming weekend
Authorities in Georgia are investigating a shooting that killed one person and injured seven others during an off campus party near Fort Valley State University.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that the person who died was not a Fort Valley State University student.
Mechell Clark McCrary, a university spokesperson, told NBC News in a statement that campus police received reports of the shooting early Saturday morning. She also confirmed that university students attending the off campus party suffered non-life threatening injuries during the incident.
The seven injured victims are all in stable condition, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Fort Valley State University temporarily placed the campus on lockdown following the shooting. That lockdown was later lifted Saturday morning after "campus police determined there was no threat to the campus community, McCrary said.
Fort Valley State University, an HBCU located about an hour-and-a-half south of Atlanta in Peach County, was gearing up to host homecoming festivities at the school.
Local news outlets reported that Peach County Coroner Kerry Rooks identified the person killed during the shooting as Tyler French, 27, of Byron. According to Rooks, French died at about 3 a.m. Saturday.
Following the shooting, the university cancelled two of those events on Saturday morning, including an alumni breakfast and their homecoming parade.
The university said it still plans to still host the homecoming football game with "increased security protocols in place."
School officials also urged affected students to contact the university’s counseling service.
“Our thoughts are with the students and the families as they recover,” McCrary said.
