Campus Alert Archive
TSU

Dice Game Dispute Turns Deadly in Campus Courtyard, Three Female Bystanders Wounded

TNshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On October 22, 2015, a dispute over a dice game in the outdoor courtyard of the Floyd-Payne Campus Center escalated into gunfire shortly before 11:00 PM CDT, killing 19-year-old Cameron Selmon and wounding three female students who were passing by. Neither the victim nor the suspected shooters were TSU students. Two suspects, Robert Tunstall and Christopher Gatewood, were arrested months later and charged with murder.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
3
Institution
Tennessee State University
Hbcu · TN
~8,600 studentsTiger Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction161 chars
TSU ALERT: Shots fired in the courtyard near the Floyd-Payne Campus Center. Seek shelter immediately. Lock doors and stay away from windows. This is not a drill.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The shooting occurred shortly before 11:00 PM CDT on October 22, 2015 in the outdoor courtyard of the Floyd-Payne Campus Center, per Nashville police surveillance video
At least two gunmen were involved in the shooting, firing during a dispute over a dice game
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction160 chars
TSU ALERT: The campus is now secure. Classes are canceled for Friday, October 23. Students are asked to remain calm and report any information to campus police.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

TSU canceled classes for Friday, October 23, 2015 following the shooting
The university confirmed the shooters were not TSU students
Context

Background

On the evening of October 22, 2015, a dice game being played in the outdoor courtyard of the Floyd-Payne Campus Center at Tennessee State University turned violent when a dispute escalated into gunfire shortly before 11:00 PM CDT. Nineteen-year-old Cameron Selmon of Memphis, a student at Southwest Tennessee Community College who was visiting the campus, was killed in the shooting. Three 18-year-old female TSU freshmen who were walking past the courtyard were also wounded by gunfire; one was grazed and refused treatment while two were hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and released. Surveillance video released by Nashville police showed the sequence of events. A 10-month investigation led to the arrests of Robert Tunstall and Christopher Gatewood, who were identified in the surveillance footage as the two men firing pistols. TSU officials confirmed the gunmen were not university students, a recurring theme: the incident was part of a broader pattern of HBCU shootings in fall 2015 in which non-students were frequently involved.
Analysis

Key Findings

Neither the victim nor the shooters were TSU students, highlighting the challenge of managing non-student visitors on open urban campuses
Surveillance video was key to solving the case, but it took 10 months to make arrests
The incident was part of a wave of shootings at six HBCUs in under a month during fall 2015
Outcome
Cameron Selmon, 19, of Memphis (a Southwest Tennessee Community College student) was killed. Three 18-year-old TSU female students were wounded by gunfire; one refused treatment at the scene while two were treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and released. Suspects Robert Tunstall and Christopher Gatewood were arrested and indicted for murder.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Tennessee State University: 1 dead in shooting over dice game (CNN)
    cnn.com
  2. News
    Shooting at Tennessee State University leaves one dead, two injured (Washington Post)
    washingtonpost.com
  3. News
    Two Arrested in October TSU Dice-Game Shooting (Patch Nashville)
    patch.com
  4. News
    Deadly Shooting on Tennessee State University's Campus in Nashville (ABC News)
    abcnews.go.com
  5. News
    Shootings at six HBCUs in under a month draw scrutiny (Inside Higher Ed)
    insidehighered.com
Tags
shootinghbcutennesseenon-student-perpetratorfataldice-gamebystanders-wounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion