1 killed, 9 others injured in shooting near Tennessee State University after homecoming parade, officials say

By Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — A man was killed and nine other people were injured in a shooting Saturday near Tennessee State University as the Nashville school celebrated homecoming – and investigators believe at least one of the injured participated in the gunfire, officials said.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. along a street where TSU’s homecoming parade had taken place that morning, Nashville police and fire officials said at a news conference Saturday evening. The man who died was 24 years old, police said on X. His name, the names of the injured, and information about a motive were not immediately released.

At least three of the injured were children who had non-critical injuries, Nashville police said on X. A 12-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls were taken to an area children’s hospital, according to Don Aaron, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

The other victims range in age from a 23-year-old man to a 55-year-old woman, Aaron said, adding that the woman is in critical condition.

“We believe that the others are going to survive and recover,” Aaron said.

At least one of the injured people “is suspected to have been involved in the gunfire,” Nashville police said on X. Police didn’t immediately say whether they were looking for anyone in connection with the shooting.

Investigators didn’t immediately know whether any of the people shot were TSU students, Nashville police Cmdr. Anthony McClain told reporters.

“We think this is something that was kind of a sidebar to the (homecoming) celebration” and “not a direct reflection on the university itself,” McClain said.

Firefighters who already were in the area to do community outreach during the morning parade rushed to the wounded after the gunfire, city fire department spokesperson Kendra Loney said.

The firefighters who were at the shooting scene “said it just sounded like fireworks… until they realized it wasn’t,” Loney said.

“Our personnel recounted to me some moments where they ripped off their belts and did things like use those as tourniquets because they did not have their medical bags with them,” Loney said.

The shooting “interrupted what was otherwise a fun and eventful day for a lot of people here today,” Loney said.

Of the 10 shot, five were taken to hospitals by fire department personnel, and the others were “dropped off by private vehicles,” Nashville police spokesperson Brooke Reese said.

Authorities are making progress in their investigation, which remains ongoing, Aaron said.

“There’s no indication of any gang relation,” Aaron said. “It was two groups of people who were beefing and they opened fire on each other with a crowd around.”

Saturday marked the end of homecoming week at the university. The school’s football team played its homecoming game Saturday evening at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, roughly 3 miles east of where the shooting happened.

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CNN’s Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.