SALISBURY, N.C. — The Salisbury Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred on the campus of Livingstone College late Saturday night. On Tuesday, college officials and police said one person so far has been charged.
Police said a fight occurred on the campus of Livingstone College around 11 p.m. Saturday during the college's homecoming concert. During the incident, a person, who is not a student of Livingstone College, fired one or more shots, police report.
Police said two people were shot. One woman grazed with a bullet was treated and released from the hospital. The second victim, a man, was flown to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center to be treated for a gunshot wound.
Livingstone College is located near downtown Salisbury in Rowan County.
Police said it appears that there was no exchange of gunfire by those involved in the altercation, contrary to earlier rumors.
"At this time, there is no active threat to the college or the community," the Salisbury Police Department said in a released statement early Sunday morning.
Charges filed
Livingstone officials, the mayor of Salisbury, and police gathered Monday for a news briefing to confirm one person is facing charges in the shooting.
According to Salisbury Police, 21-year-old Talib Latrell Kelly was wounded during the incident. Officials confirmed he was not a Livingstone student and is also charged with firing at least one shot Saturday night.
Kelly is still being treated at a Charlotte hospital, but now faces a trio of charges: attempted 1st degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and discharging a firearm while on educational property.
Salisbury Police noted Kelly had prior interaction with the department. WCNC Charlotte reported in 2018 Kelly was investigated for a suspicious shooting death along with another man by Rowan County deputies. He was 17 at the time.
As the investigation continues, police are asking for help finding another person of interest. The department shared three surveillance photos showing someone wearing a red jacket and dark-colored pants, and police said that person was wearing a full-coverage face mask similar to a ski mask.
The college’s president Anthony Davis said they won’t close their doors to the community because of the shooting.
“We’ve been in existence for 143 years producing graduates contributing to the global society," Davis said. "That’s our mission. When they incidents happen they don’t define who we are.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Lt. Crews at 704-638-5333 or send a private message to the Salisbury Police Department Facebook or Twitter pages at @SalisburyNCPD.
'I was just so in shock'
The gunfire erupted during a concert featuring rapper Asian Doll. Janiya White was there and said she saw some sort of fight before shots rang out and she took off.
"In the video, I just kept falling; they [her friends] kept telling me to get up," White said. "I was just so in shock and I was like, 'Check me, check me, and make sure that I was not shot.'"
Police say multiple people also got hurt running from the scene. White is one of them -- she left the concert with several wounds on her foot.
"Just seeing people on the ground and getting pulled away in stretchers, it just made me want to break down and cry because I know the pain," White said. "I know the feeling of wondering if you are going to see your mom or your dad again."
White, a gun violence survivor, said she is pretty shaken up. She wants people to put the guns away and learn better ways to solve their issues.
"Teach them that guns are not the way to solve things so that the next generation can be better than this generation," she continued.
“I’m saddened that after a week of homecoming activities without incident, our students, alumni, their families and friends had to witness this senseless act of gun violence," Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis. said. "My prayer is that the community will respond to Livingstone College in the same manner it responded when gunfire erupted at a holiday basketball tournament in December."
'We will always remember this weekend'
Salisbury Police Department released the following statement Sunday afternoon regarding the shooting:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Livingstone College family and the victims of the incident that occurred on campus late yesterday evening. Although the Salisbury Police Department is still very early in its investigation, additional information is being made available by law enforcement."
Students said the shooting is not a reflection of Livingstone College but of the gun violence plaguing communities across the country.
"As a whole, I’m pretty sure the alumni that came out of this weekend had an amazing time up until that point,” Chaz Davenport said. “We will always remember this weekend, and going forward we are only going to try to get better.”
Melvin Rush II is a former student and feels nothing but pride for the HBCU.
“This institution has helped not only my life but more people than I can even think of,” he said.
He performed at several events over the weekend and lives up the street.
“Usually there aren’t incidents like this," Rush said. "Livingstone within itself provides adequate security and I think Salisbury Police at large does as well."
Kendall Foster, a student at the college, said despite the shooting incident she feels safe on campus.
“Security is good, they do their job, and they always ask for my ID when I come to the gate," Foster said. "They take my tags down if I have a different car."
Foster said although there is always room for improvement, she doesn’t want to see the college close events to the public because of this incident.
“Livingstone being an HBCU in a very small town, we welcome everybody,” Foster said. “And we don’t want to have it where people can’t come to our school and enjoy what we enjoy.”
'It breaks my heart'
Chaz Davenport, a former Livingstone College student, said more can be done to curb gun violence in the community as a whole.
"There’s a lack of leadership in the communities,” Davenport said. “There’s a lack of funds and a lack of supervision. If you take those out of any community you are going to get strained.”
Salisbury-Rowan NAACP President Gemale Black said he got to campus as soon as he heard of the shooting to talk to students and make sure people were safe.
“It breaks my heart,” Black said. “It takes steps back that we know that we're bedded in, especially in Salisbury, and the Rowan County community.”
The local chapter partners with Salisbury Police with a cease-fire initiative. Black said together they are out building relationships with the people in the community.
“If we hear of anything that will escalate into gun violence or violence in particular, we try to de-escalate it,” he said. “We try to meet with those people that we are told may retaliate… We offer them resources, maybe it's talking to a counselor.”
Black said they are also working in high-crime areas to see what people who live in the area needs. He said that when people have the resources they need, they are in a better position to prosper. They are also looking to find more proactive measures to prevent incidents like what happened on campus.
"Catawba College stands in solidarity with the entire Livingstone College community as it copes with the recent shooting on their campus. We hope and pray for a full recovery of everyone injured. Words are insufficient to describe our grief and anger at this senseless act of violence. All campuses should be safe havens for living and learning. Our hearts and hopes for healing are with the students, faculty, staff, and alumni at Livingstone now and in the weeks to come.
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