Search continues for Lincoln University shooter

The search continued Sunday for the person who shot two women inside a residential building of Lincoln University around 10 p.m. Saturday night.

The victims, who were not students but visiting the Chester County campus during the annual Yardfest spring celebration, were treated at Christiana Hospital and released before 8 a.m. Sunday, according to the university.

University and Chester County law enforcement are collaborating in the investigation and apprehension of the shooter, Lincoln University President Brenda Allen said in a statement Sunday.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office said the shooting happened in a hallway on the second floor of the Thurgood Marshall Living Learning Center, or LLC building. Hundreds of people were packed into the hallway when a single gunshot sent the crowd running. Authorities believe the same bullet struck one woman in a thigh and hit the second woman in an ankle.

“Thousands of people were terrified during this unexpected shooting, and it is very fortunate that there were no fatalities,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a statement, asking anyone with information to call Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.

Students who posted to TikTok about Lincoln’s Spring Fling event showed glimpses of drunken festivities and a campus covered with debris from a night of partying.

Lincoln, a public, state-related historically Black university with about 1,800 students in Lower Oxford Township, was also the site of a fatal stabbing last year.

Nydira Smith, 40, is awaiting trial for the murder of 21-year-old student Jawine Evans, and for wounding two other people in an attack inside a dorm room.

The university’s most recently published crime statistics indicate that over the three-year span from 2019 to 2021 there were no homicides on campus, a total of 10 rapes, and 10 aggravated assaults.

Police and university officials have not made public any suspected motive for the shooting.

At 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the university issued an alert about the shooting and announced an all-campus lockdown, during which only those with Lincoln University IDs were allowed into residence halls. The lockdown had been lifted Sunday and campus activities had resumed.

“Lincoln University holds student safety and well-being as an essential part of student life,” Allen said.

According to Marc R. Partee, Lincoln University’s director of public safety/chief of police, Yardfest is an annual spring tradition at the university that allows students to decompress and enjoy themselves. It’s part of a week of Spring Fling concerts and parties; a sign posted at Lincoln University last week advised that the event was for students and their guests only.

Anyone with information can also contact campus security at 484-365-7211 or Chester County law enforcement authorities at 610-344-6801.

This is a developing story and will be updated.