Campus Alert Archive
Voorhees

Around-Midnight Gunfire During Voorhees's Homecoming in Denmark, S.C. Killed One and Sent the Residential Side of the HBCU into Lockdown

SCshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Around midnight on November 9-10, 2018, gunfire erupted during a homecoming event on the campus of Voorhees College — a small HBCU in Denmark, South Carolina. 26-year-old Charles Edward Williams Jr. was killed and another person was wounded. The residential side of campus was placed on lockdown while authorities searched for the gunman. Donterry Isaac Staley, 26, was later arrested and charged with murder. Neither the victim nor the suspect were Voorhees students.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
1
Institution
Voorhees College
Hbcu · SC
~500 studentsVoorhees Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

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 ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimWLTX, quoting the official Voorhees College lockdown statement166 chars
The residential side of campus will be on lockdown. Only students, faculty, and staff with proper I.D. and decals will be permitted on the residential side of campus.
Voorhees enrolls only about 500 students; the lockdown affected a campus the size of a small high school
The lockdown specifically restricted the residential side rather than the entire campus, and uniquely required 'proper I.D. and decals' for re-entry — a perimeter-control protocol more typical of HBCU residential housing than university-wide active-threat lockdowns
The shooting occurred at a homecoming event — a recurring pattern in HBCU emergencies (parallel cases in this archive include Tuskegee 2023, Fort Valley State 2021, Tennessee State 2024, Albany State 2024)
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction376 chars
Voorhees College has experienced a tragic incident on campus during homecoming activities. Two people have been shot, and one is deceased. Neither individual is a Voorhees College student. The Bamberg County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are investigating. The residential lockdown has been lifted, and counseling services will be available.

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

The phrasing 'neither individual is a Voorhees College student' is a recurring institutional message in HBCU homecoming-shooting cases — institutions strongly emphasize this in early communications
SLED's involvement was significant; in South Carolina, SLED typically investigates fatal shootings at colleges and universities
Bamberg County Sheriff's Office was the local law-enforcement lead, in coordination with SLED and Voorhees campus security
Context

Background

Voorhees College (renamed Voorhees University in 2022) is a small private HBCU in Denmark, South Carolina, founded in 1897 by Elizabeth Evelyn Wright and historically affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Around midnight on the night of November 9, 2018, shots were fired during a homecoming event on the Voorhees campus. 26-year-old Charles Edward Williams Jr. of Denmark died at the scene; a second person was wounded. The residential side of campus was placed on lockdown while the Bamberg County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) searched for the shooter. Donterry Isaac Staley, 26, of Denmark, was later arrested and charged with murder. Voorhees emphasized in its official communications that neither the victim nor the shooter was a Voorhees student — a recurring HBCU communications pattern when violence occurs at campus events that draw large outside crowds. The 74 Million included the case in its 2018 tally of school-related gun deaths. The incident is significant for the campus alert archive because it documents an HBCU homecoming shooting at one of the smallest four-year colleges in the country, where the campus security operation depended primarily on county and state law enforcement rather than a large dedicated campus police department.
Analysis

Key Findings

Around-midnight gunfire during homecoming killed one and wounded another, neither of whom were Voorhees students
Only the residential side of campus was placed on lockdown, indicating the threat was geographically contained
SLED — the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division — joined the investigation alongside the Bamberg County Sheriff's Office
Donterry Isaac Staley, 26, was later charged with murder
The case fits a documented pattern of homecoming-event shootings at HBCUs — including Tuskegee 2023, Fort Valley State 2021, Tennessee State 2024, Albany State 2024 — driven by large outside-attendee crowds
Outcome
Charles Edward Williams Jr., 26, of Denmark died at the scene. A second person was wounded and transported to an area hospital. The residential side of campus was placed on lockdown briefly while law enforcement searched for the shooter. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) joined the investigation. Donterry Isaac Staley, 26, of Denmark, was later arrested and charged with murder. Neither the victim nor the suspect were Voorhees students.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    One dead, one injured in homecoming shooting at Voorhees College (WLTX)
    wltx.com
  2. News
    Suspect arrested in fatal shooting; one person was killed, one injured in Voorhees incident (Times and Democrat)
    thetandd.com
  3. News
    SLED investigating after fatal shooting at Voorhees College (WACH)
    wach.com
  4. Source
    1 Killed, 1 Injured in Shooting During SC College Homecoming Event (The 74 Million)
    the74million.org
  5. News
    One shot during homecoming party at Voorhees College (WIS)
    wistv.com
  6. Source
    Voorhees University (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
shootingfatal-shootinghbcusouth-carolinadenmark-schomecoming-shootingnon-studentsmall-hbcusledresidential-lockdown
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion