TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — Tuskegee University student Sid Guynn hid under a car when he heard gunshots on the Alabama campus during homecoming celebrations, then ran back to his dormitory, frightened by what sounded like a machine gun.

“It was terrible; “I couldn’t find my phone or my brother,” he said. Guynn said. He said his brother was not a student at the university and came to visit when gunshots caused students to fall to the ground or run for their lives.

One person was killed and at least 16 others were injured in a shooting early Sunday, authorities said, including a dozen as a result of the shooting. It was announced hours later that he would be arrested. It was stated that most of the injured were students.

The man killed in the weekend shooting at Tuskegee University during commencement ceremony has been identified as La’Tavion Johnson, an 18-year-old non-student from Troy, Alabama, the local coroner said Monday.

Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery, was taken into custody as he left the scene of the campus shooting and was found with a handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. Myrick faces a federal charge of possessing a machine gun, the agency said in a statement. He did not accuse her of using a gun in the shooting or provide additional details.

The agency did not say whether Myrick was a student at the historically Black university, where the shooting broke out as the school’s 100th commencement week was coming to an end.

It was not immediately known whether Myrick had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Online booking records show he is being held in the Montgomery County jail.

The government agency said 12 people were injured in the shooting and four others suffered unrelated gunshot wounds. In the statement made by the university, it was stated that many people were treated at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery.

Their medical conditions were not immediately released, but Macon County Coroner Hal Bentley said he understood at least one of the injured people was in critical condition.

The FBI has joined the investigation and said it is looking for leads both from the public and video witnesses may have. He set up an online site for people to upload videos. A local prosecutor said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also involved in the investigation.

Tuskegee University President Dr. The school is no longer an open campus, Mark A. Brown said at a news conference Monday outside the campus’s main entrance. All students and faculty will be required to wear ID on campus.

Brown said security checks are carried out at all official school events, but the party where the attack took place was not approved by the school.

“We did not and could not plan for the security of an event that was not approved in advance or approved by the university.” Brown said. But he said the school administration would do so. “Take full responsibility” for “implementation of corrective actions.”

The president said the former campus security chief has been replaced and the new security chief will thoroughly investigate the shooting. Brown did not name the new head of campus security when asked.

Brown said classes were canceled on Monday and Tuesday, counseling would be provided to all students, and a town hall would be held to address community concerns.

all living students “Near the shooting incident” Brown said he will be given the opportunity to move.

The shooting incident is the latest incident “machine gun conversion device” When it was found, it was something law officials across the country expressed serious concern about. The proliferation of such weapons is made possible by small pieces of metal or plastic made with a 3D printer or ordered online.

Guns equipped with conversion devices have been used in several mass shootings last year, including a shooting that left four people dead at a Sweet Sixteen party in Alabama and another that left six dead in a bar area in Sacramento, California.

“It takes two or three seconds to insert some of these devices into a firearm to instantly transform the firearm into a machine gun.” Steve Dettelbach, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in an AP report on guns earlier this year.

Following the shooting at Tuskegee University, Guynn, 18, said schoolwide group chats were flooded with messages of support for injured victims she said she knew personally. He said he came to Tuskegee from his home in Iowa this year because he wanted to learn in a close-knit Black community.

“Tuskegee, it feels like family.” Guynn added: “Everyone is connected.”

Amare’ Hardee, president of the student government association from Tallahassee, Florida, said the shooting shook the entire university community.

“This senseless act of violence affected each and every one of us, directly or indirectly.” he said at the school’s graduation ceremony Sunday morning.

Sunday’s shooting comes a little more than a year after four people were injured in a shooting at the Tuskegee University student housing complex. Two visitors to the campus were shot, and two students were injured as campus officials tried to leave the scene. “unauthorized party” The Montgomery Advertiser reported in September 2023.

About 3,000 students are enrolled at the university, located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Alabama’s capital, Montgomery.

The university was the first historically Black college to be designated a Registered National Landmark in 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Site in 1974, according to the school’s website.

Guynn said he hopes greater security will prevent gun violence on campus in the future. He also said he doesn’t want national attention to define the school and community he loves.

“It’s not like Tuskegee for something like this to happen.” he said.