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Khamanti Lytrel Kennedy, 18, ran from the dorm room after the
Thursday night shooting at the Hugine Suites housing complex,
according to an arrest warrant filed by the State Law
Enforcement Division.
Kennedy, who is not a student at the university, was out on bond
after a September arrest for having a gun on campus, according
to court records.
Henry L. Crittington, 19, and Terrell Thomas, 18, died in the
shooting. They were not South Carolina State University
students. The name and condition of the man who was wounded has
not been released. He was a student, officials said.
Kennedy arrived at the university with three other people in a
car Thursday night. The men got something out of their vehicle
and the shooting happened during a drug deal over marijuana in
the dorm room, according to the arrest warrant.
The warrant did not identify who fired weapons.
It was the second fatal shooting on campus in a little over four
months. A 19-year-old woman died in gunfire near the same
residential complex during Oct. 4 homecoming celebrations.
Several people were arrested on gun-related charges.
Campus officials said new security measures put in place after
that shooting, including additional surveillance cameras, helped
identify Kennedy as a suspect.
Kennedy was arraigned Tuesday in court in Orangeburg County and
denied bond. He answered questions from the judge and did not
appear to have a lawyer present, according to The Times and
Democrat of Orangeburg.
The university said it put more security measures in place after
the latest shooting. Visitors can only be on campus from 9 a.m.
to 9 p.m. and have to go through security screening. Students
have their own gate to enter campus and must have their IDs.
The school is also asking lawmakers for $8 million for more
security upgrades, a new police station on campus and additional
officers.
South Carolina State University, founded in 1896, is the state's
only public historically Black university and has more than
2,900 students, according to its website.
The university community recently marked the 58th anniversary of
what has come to be called the Orangeburg Massacre: the killing
of three young men on Feb. 8, 1968, when officers shot at a
crowd of Black students who rallied on campus after
demonstrating against segregation at a bowling alley.
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