Last Saturday, what should have been a celebration at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania turned into a nightmare. Around 9:30 p.m., gunfire broke out at the tailgate outside the school’s International Cultural Center following the homecoming football game, and by early Sunday one young man was dead and six others wounded.
The victim who lost his life has been identified as 25-year-old Jujuan Jeffers of Wilmington, Delaware. He died shortly after midnight Sunday from a gunshot wound to the head. The six injured range in age from 20 to 25. At least one is a current student of Lincoln University and another an alum, but four of the injured have no known direct affiliation to the school. All are expected to survive, according to authorities.
Investigators led by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office believe there were multiple shooters involved, although they emphasize this does not appear to have been a planned attack with intent to cause mass casualties. “We’re operating under the belief that the shooter or shooters in this case did not come here with the specific design to inflict mass damage on a college campus,” DA Christopher de Barrena‑Sarobe said.
One man has been taken into custody: Zecqueous Morgan‑Thompson, age 21 of Wilmington, is held on $25,000 bail and charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license. It has not been confirmed whether his weapon was used in the shooting.
The investigation remains active and ongoing. Forensic teams and K-9 units are processing the scene, and authorities are reviewing witness statements and surveillance and cellphone video footage from attendees.
As the campus community reels, Lincoln University announced that classes will be canceled Monday (Oct. 27) to allow a day of “healing and reflection,” and a remembrance event for Jujuan Jeffers is being arranged.
The school, founded in 1854 and the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), had set the evening to mark legacy and reunion—but instead, the mood shifted dramatically. University Police Chief Marc Partee said it best: “Devastated. If there was another word to describe that, one more impactful, I would use it.”
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic. Tents and tailgate tables dotted the parking lot outside the International Cultural Center when the shots rang out and people scattered in all directions. One student visiting from another school said she initially thought the noise was fireworks. Local alumni, who had traveled back for the celebration, expressed sorrow and frustration—some questioned whether security and crowd control had been sufficient given the large turnout and celebratory atmosphere.
The state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, has pledged full support to the university and law-enforcement efforts, urging anyone with video footage or information to reach out and help investigators piece together exactly what happened.
As the community mourns the young man lost and leans in to support those wounded, the questions remain: how did celebration turn to tragedy, and what can be done to guard against such a sudden eruption of violence at an event meant for unity and pride?
