8 wounded in shooting near Virginia’s James Madison University, police say

By staff and wire reports

A suspect is in custody following a shooting early Sunday morning near Virginia’s James Madison University campus in Harrisonburg that left eight people wounded.

Tyreaf Isaiah Flemming, 20, is facing charges of “attempted murder, aggravated malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony,” according to a tweet by the city of Harrisonburg on Sunday.

The Harrisonburg Police Department said at least one shooter fired into a crowd during a gathering after 2 a.m., leaving each of the victims with non-life-threatening wounds.

The shooting occurred less than a mile away from the university’s campus in Harrisonburg in northern Virginia. Each of the victims, who range in age from 18 to 27 years old, were hospitalized, according to officials.

Police said when officers arrived on scene at the 1500 block of Devon Lane, no suspects were in the area.

Police considered the shooting to be an isolated incident and don’t believe the community is at further risk.

Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed slammed the shooting as “unacceptable.”

“There is no place for violence such as this in our society. Certainly not in Harrisonburg, a community that at its heart will always remain committed to being a loving, welcoming place where all feel safe,” Reed said. No one, and no act, can shake us from that belief.

“I call on all in our community to support those suffering today,” Reed said.

James Madison University, which was founded in 1908, enrolls more than 21,000 students. None of the victims are students at the university, the college’s chief of police said Sunday.

James Madison University Police issued a shelter-in-place notice after the shooting, and urged students to keep the victims “in your thoughts as they recover.”