A community reels: Deadly dorm shooting strikes South Carolina State University
By willowt // 2026-02-14
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  • A shooting at South Carolina State University's Hugine Suites housing complex left two men dead and one wounded.
  • The incident triggered an eight-hour campus lockdown, with classes canceled through Monday.
  • Both deceased victims were identified as non-students, while the wounded individual is an enrolled student.
  • This is the second deadly shooting on campus in four months, following a fatal homecoming incident in October 2025.
  • The tragedy renews debates on campus security and state firearm laws, casting a shadow over the historically Black university.
In a devastating recurrence of campus violence, South Carolina State University was shattered by a deadly shooting late Thursday, February 12. The incident, which unfolded inside a room at the Hugine Suites student housing complex, resulted in the deaths of two young men and left a third wounded. The attack prompted an immediate, hours-long lockdown of the Orangeburg campus, canceling classes and forcing a community still healing from a previous tragedy to confront renewed grief and urgent questions about safety.

The immediate aftermath and investigation

According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which is leading the investigation, gunfire erupted shortly after 9 p.m. local time. One victim, 19-year-old Henry L. Crittington, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second, 18-year-old Terrell Thomas, succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital. The third shooting victim, an enrolled student whose name has not been released, survived. Authorities confirmed that the two deceased individuals were not students at the university. While a police report indicated two women were present in the room at the time, SLED has not disclosed a motive or identified a suspect, stating only that there is no ongoing threat. The campus lockdown was lifted around 5 a.m. Friday.

A pattern of tragedy and the security response

This shooting marks the second lethal incident on campus in just over four months, casting a long shadow over the university’s security measures. During homecoming celebrations on October 4, 2025, a 19-year-old woman was killed in a shooting near the same residential complex. In the wake of those homecoming shootings, University President Alexander Conyers announced enhanced safety protocols, including new perimeter fencing and additional security patrols. The rapid recurrence of violence suggests these measures were insufficient to prevent another tragedy. In response to the latest shooting, the university’s Board of Trustees held an emergency closed-door meeting, and Conyers communicated directly with parents, acknowledging the concerns such repeated incidents understandably provoke.

Historical context and broader implications

The shooting forces the South Carolina State community to grapple with a painful duality of history. The university, the state’s only public historically Black college, recently commemorated the 58th anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre—a 1968 event where state police killed three Black students protesting segregation. This latest violence, while criminal rather than state-sponsored, inflicts a new trauma on a campus with a deep legacy of confronting adversity. The incident also fuels an ongoing policy debate. Democratic State Representative Hamilton Grant, an alumnus, issued a statement calling for a re-examination of state laws that permit individuals to store firearms in locked vehicles on campus grounds, arguing such access can too quickly escalate conflicts.

A campus seeks solace and solutions

As counselors are made available to students and the postponed men’s basketball game is rescheduled, the South Carolina State University community is left to mourn and seek a path forward. The facts of the case—a targeted incident in a dorm room, with victims both inside and outside the student body—present a complex security challenge that transcends simple perimeter control. This tragedy underscores a persistent national dilemma: ensuring the open, communal nature of campus life while protecting against the pervasive threat of gun violence. The investigation by SLED continues, but for the students, faculty, and alumni of South Carolina State, the pressing task is once again to find resilience in the face of loss and to demand solutions that will finally break this cycle of violence. Sources for this article include: NewsNationNow.com NBCNews.com CountOn2.com
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