DALLAS — Two women were fatally shot and a toddler was wounded Monday at a Texas A&M University-Commerce residence hall.
The child, who is about 2 years old, was hospitalized in stable condition, campus police Chief Bryan Vaughn confirmed at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Authorities declined to answer questions at the news conference, and they did not release the victims’ names or say whether the women were students.
All classes, programs and events have been canceled through Wednesday, the university announced.
The university said counselors would be available at the Halladay Student Services building for anyone who needed assistance.
Darius Myers, a freshman studying nursing at A&M-Commerce, said the feeling on campus Monday wasn’t new to him.
“It’s kind of like deja vu,” he said, recalling a similar gloomy feeling cast over the campus in October, when two people were fatally shot at a party celebrating the school’s homecoming week in nearby Greenville.
Law enforcement officials had cordoned off the dorm with yellow police line, and the students left through a side door, saying they weren’t allowed to use the main entrance.
Brittney Davis, a junior, and Carrie Banks, a freshman, said they were anxious to learn more information about the shooting.
Davis said they’re worried they could know one of the victims.
“Right now, we don’t have a good feeling,” she said. “But I’m still trying to keep hope and prayers for her family, at least.”
Davis said the campus will need time to grieve.
“We just need to get everybody’s mind right, because right now, we’re all shell-shocked,” she said. “We want information — I know it’s sensitive information — but you have to let us know something so we know what move to make.”
Banks and Davis said they know violence can happen anywhere, but they wished the campus was less accessible to the public so that students would feel safer.
“If it can happen anywhere, why not try to reduce the amount of access people have to us?” Davis said.
