Campus Alert Archive
WC

Black Sedan Opens Fire in Strickland Hall Parking Lot at Historic HBCU, Bullet Passes Through Women's Dorm Window

TXshootingtimely warningmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Shortly after midnight on January 15, 2018, a black sedan entered the parking lot of Strickland Hall at Wiley College and possibly exchanged gunfire with a person in the lot before crashing into a retaining wall and fleeing the scene. A bullet passed through a window in one of the Strickland Hall dorm rooms where three female students were inside; no injuries were reported. Students demanded increased security after the incident at the historic East Texas HBCU.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Wiley College
Hbcu · TX
~1,600 studentsWiley Emergency 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 ALERTUnknown
Approximate reconstruction323 chars
Wiley College Police are investigating a shooting that occurred in the Strickland Hall parking lot. A vehicle involved in the incident has fled the scene. Please remain in your residence halls and lock your doors until further notice. If you have any information, contact Wiley College Police or Marshall Police Department.

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

Reconstructed from KTBS Shreveport, Marshall News Messenger, and KTAL News reporting; exact alert wording not confirmed from official Wiley College archive
Incident reported at approximately 12:15 a.m. CST on January 15, 2018; Marshall Police responded to the area of University Avenue near Wiley Avenue
A separate earlier shooting incident at Wiley College resulted in student casualties and had also spurred calls for improved campus security
ALL CLEARUnknown
Approximate reconstruction260 chars
Wiley College Police have completed an initial investigation of the shooting at Strickland Hall. No injuries were reported. The suspects have fled the campus. Please exercise heightened awareness and report any suspicious activity to campus or Marshall Police.

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

Reconstructed from KTBS and KTAL News reporting; exact wording not confirmed
Three female students were inside the dorm room when the bullet passed through their window; all escaped injury
Students subsequently organized calls for stronger campus security measures through the student newspaper and social media
Context

Background

Wiley College, founded in 1873 in Marshall, Texas, is one of the oldest HBCUs west of the Mississippi River and gained national recognition for its debate team's accomplishments depicted in the 2007 film 'The Great Debaters.' The college's enrollment of approximately 1,600 students makes it one of the smaller HBCUs in the South-Central region. In the early hours of January 15, 2018, Marshall Police responded to reports of gunshots near Strickland Hall, a campus dormitory. A black sedan entered the parking lot and appeared to exchange gunfire with an individual on foot before crashing into a retaining wall and fleeing. Three female students in Strickland Hall escaped injury after a bullet penetrated their dorm room window. Students and community members called for increased security at the campus following the incident. Marshall Police sought two suspects on Deadly Conduct charges but no arrests were immediately reported. The campus was found to have a history of violence issues; a prior shooting at the college had resulted in student deaths and injuries, adding urgency to the student calls for reform.
Outcome
No injuries. Three female students were in the dorm room when a bullet passed through their window. Suspects fled in a black sedan with extensive front-end damage from crashing into a retaining wall. Marshall Police continued to search for those responsible on charges of Deadly Conduct. A separate prior shooting had killed and injured other Wiley College students in an earlier incident.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Shooting reported at Wiley College in Marshall - KTBS Shreveport
    ktbs.com
  2. News
    Marshall police look into shooting on campus of Wiley College - Marshall News Messenger
    marshallnewsmessenger.com
  3. News
    Wiley College students call for increased security after bullet flies through window - KSLA
    ksla.com
  4. News
    College students escape injury after bullet goes through dorm room window - KTAL News
    ktalnews.com
Tags
shootinghbcutexasresidence-halldrive-byeast-texasmarshall-texascampus-security
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion