Two men were shot Saturday night near Virginia Union University's Richmond campus as thousands of people gathered for Homecoming weekend, sending one man to the hospital by ambulance and another who drove himself there with a gunshot wound. It marked the second shooting tied to VUU in less than a week.
Richmond officers responded to the 1500 block of North Lombardy Street around 8:33 p.m., according to WTVR CBS 6 News Richmond, arriving to find a man with an apparent gunshot wound who was then taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A second man showed up at the hospital a short while later with a gunshot wound that was also described as non-life-threatening. The 1500 block of North Lombardy Street is the same address listed for Virginia Union's campus, according to the university's own Homecoming 2026 event page, and separate reporting from 12 OnYourSide likewise placed the shooting in that same block, describing the second victim as transporting himself to a local hospital.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said during a press briefing that law enforcement had already been stationed on campus for Homecoming celebrations and reached the scene within about one minute, per the station's report. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an altercation near Henderson Hall that escalated into gunfire, the chief said. Numerous people were in the vicinity when the shooting occurred, and many fled after hearing gunfire, scattering from the area before officers arrived.
A Crowd in the Thousands, A Chief Asking for Help
Students who spoke with the outlet said thousands of people had gathered for the festivities, and the crowd was still scattering from the area as law enforcement arrived. Edwards urged witnesses and anyone with video of the incident, including people who fled the scene, to contact investigators.
Saturday's shooting was reported as the second at VUU in the same week, following a Tuesday shooting that sent one man to the hospital, as 12 OnYourSide noted. In that earlier incident, campus police said a person was shot in the parking lot of the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center, and the university told WRIC that neither the victim nor the other person involved was a VUU student. Students were notified the resulting lockdown had been lifted at 12:07 a.m.
Virginia Union's own Homecoming safety guidelines had promised additional law enforcement and campus security officers for the remainder of the week, and said Saturday's Tailgate Experience and other campus events were scheduled to conclude at 7 p.m., ahead of when Saturday's shooting was reported. The university's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report specifically forbids possessing a concealed or unconcealed firearm, weapon, or other hazardous material on campus, including inside vehicles, and directs anyone reporting a crime in progress to call 911 or the VUU Police non-emergency line at (804) 257-5777. The report also states the university will immediately notify the campus community once it confirms a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety.
A Wider Pattern Around Homecoming Weekends
VUU's weekend was far from an isolated case nationally. A shooting near Florida A&M University's Bragg Memorial Stadium during its own homecoming weekend injured at least 12 people, including six juveniles, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Eleven of those victims suffered gunshot wounds while a twelfth was hurt fleeing the scene, and three victims — one in critical condition — suffered serious injuries, including a FAMU student among the injured.
Earlier in October, a shooting following Delaware State University homecoming events in Dover killed 22-year-old Nasir Cox of Philadelphia and injured a 21-year-old man, according to the Dover Police Department. More than 50 officers from several departments and Delaware State Police were already working the area to manage crowds before that shooting happened. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the case, each facing three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and four counts of first-degree reckless endangering, NBC10 Philadelphia reported.
These incidents fit into a broader trend tracked by CNN, which recorded three school-campus shootings tied to football or homecoming events so far in 2026, not counting a recent Georgia homecoming block party shooting that occurred off campus. Since CNN began tracking school shootings in 2008, the network has recorded at least 86 campus shootings associated with football or homecoming events, causing at least 30 deaths and 149 injuries, with 63 of those incidents occurring in 2021 or later, according to CNN. Everytown's research, cited in the same report, found more than 80% of homecoming-week college shootings took place at historically Black colleges and universities, and all but one of 14 shootings tied to non-football homecoming events since 2008 occurred on HBCU campuses. CNN's analysis also found October to be the most common month for school shootings over its 18-year tracking period, with nearly half of October shootings occurring during a school's homecoming week.
