Commerce police officers responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 3:26 a.m. Saturday at a party in the northeast part of the city, wounding multiple people who received medical treatment. Police say the incident happened off the campus of East Texas A&M University, and there is no active threat to the community.
According to WFAA, Commerce Police Department officers actually received the emergency call at approximately 3:26 a.m., and East Texas A&M University confirmed that at least one of the wounded victims was identified as a student at the school. As reported by the Herald-Banner, police are investigating both the circumstances surrounding the shooting and the involvement of people connected to it, and the department has not released the identities or medical conditions of those involved.
Multi-Agency Investigation Underway
East Texas A&M University Police are assisting with the investigation, and the Texas Rangers have provided investigative resources, per the Herald-Banner's report. Commerce police say the investigation remains active and that the department has limited the amount of information it can release at this stage, though officials say additional details will be shared when appropriate and when doing so will not compromise the inquiry.
In the wake of the shooting, East Texas A&M University urged students to use its Counseling Center 24/7 crisis hotline at 903-886-5145 and the TELUS Student Support app for confidential mental health care, the station's report notes. Law enforcement agencies have also asked anyone with information to contact Hunt County Crime Stoppers at 903-457-2929, an anonymous tip line that offers cash rewards for information leading to felony arrests across the county.
A Town Confronting a Familiar Pattern
Commerce is a Hunt County city of roughly 9,000 residents situated about 65 miles northeast of Dallas, and East Texas A&M University — the third-largest school in the Texas A&M System, with more than 12,000 students — looms large over the town's civic life, according to background compiled on the university. The school changed its name from Texas A&M University-Commerce to East Texas A&M University after the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the switch on November 7, 2024, aiming to boost regional visibility and restore the institution's historical identity.
This is not the first time gun violence tied to student gatherings has rattled the area. In October 2019, a mass shooting broke out at an off-campus party near Greenville in Hunt County attended by hundreds of Texas A&M-Commerce students, leaving two dead and 12 injured, according to CBS News. Then in February 2020, two sisters were fatally shot and a two-year-old child was injured inside Pride Rock Residence Hall on the Commerce campus, an incident that prompted a joint investigation by campus police, Commerce police, and the Texas Rangers leading to a capital murder arrest, per KETR.
What Charges Could Look Like
Should suspects be identified, Texas law offers a framework for what charges might follow. Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.02, assault involving a deadly weapon or causing serious bodily injury is classified as aggravated assault, a second-degree felony carrying 2 to 20 years in prison, or in some cases a first-degree felony punishable by up to life imprisonment under specific statutory aggravators, according to Hindieh Law. Separately, Texas Penal Code Section 22.05 makes knowingly discharging a firearm toward people or occupied buildings a third-degree felony of deadly conduct, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, as outlined by the Whalen Law Office.
Comparative policing data covering Commerce Police Department operations from 2013 through 2025 found that violent crime accounted for roughly 4% of total arrests by the department, while low-level offenses made up 66%, according to Police Scorecard. It's a reminder that while episodes like Saturday's shooting draw intense scrutiny, they represent a small fraction of the department's overall caseload.
For now, investigators have not disclosed what sparked the altercation at the northeast Commerce party, how many people were wounded beyond the confirmed student victim, or whether any suspects have been identified. Commerce police say they will release more information as the investigation allows.
