Two people are dead, and at least one person is injured after a shooting at South Carolina State University, a historically Black public campus in Orangeburg, as investigators search for answers about what happened inside a residential complex and why the violence unfolded there.
TLDR
Two people were killed, and at least one person was injured in a shooting at South Carolina State University, triggering a campus lockdown, a cancellation of Friday classes, and a state law enforcement investigation that has not yet publicly identified victims or explained a possible motive.
What Officials Have Confirmed So Far
According to the initial report from Fox News, “Two people were killed, and at least one other was injured in a campus shooting” at South Carolina State University on Thursday night. The incident took place in an apartment at Hugine Suites, a student residential complex on the Orangeburg campus.
Two people are dead and one wounded after a shooting at a South Carolina State University residential complex pic.twitter.com/wpRyeWeBsE
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 13, 2026
The university said in a public statement that it ordered a campus lockdown at approximately 9:15 p.m. after receiving a report of a shooting inside Hugine Suites. As of about 1 a.m., Fox News reported that the campus remained under lockdown while officers continued to patrol on and around university property.
The university confirmed that at least two people had been killed and another person wounded, but it did not release the names of those killed, the condition of the injured person, or whether any of them were students, employees, or visitors. Officials also did not publicly identify any suspect or describe how many shots were fired.
In the information released so far, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or SLED, is described as leading the investigation into the shooting. The university’s Department of Public Safety is being assisted by the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office in securing the campus and the surrounding area.
Those brief statements establish the location of the shooting, confirm the deaths and injury, and document the timing of the lockdown. They do not yet answer basic questions about what prompted the violence, who was involved, or whether the person who fired the shots has been located.
An Investigation Led by State and Local Agencies
SLED commonly investigates serious crimes that occur on state property in South Carolina, including homicides and officer-involved shootings. Its role at South Carolina State University places the case within that pattern of state-level oversight when campus incidents result in deaths.
In similar investigations, state agents typically secure the immediate area, photograph and map the scene, collect ballistic evidence, and seek out surveillance footage that may show who entered and left the building. They also interview witnesses, including residents of nearby units, campus staff, and first responders who arrived after the shooting.
Campus police departments, which usually have primary jurisdiction over university grounds, often work alongside municipal and county agencies when a case involves fatalities or could extend beyond campus boundaries. In this instance, the presence of both Orangeburg city public safety officers and the county sheriff’s office underscores that broader law enforcement involvement.
As of the details reported so far, officials have not said publicly whether they recovered a weapon, whether they believe the shooter was among the dead, or whether they are searching for anyone who left the scene. Without those details, it is unclear from public information whether investigators consider the threat confined to a single apartment or potentially broader.
Campus Safety Protocols and Legal Obligations
The university stated that it issued a lockdown shortly after the report of gunfire at Hugine Suites. A campus lockdown typically means students and staff are instructed to shelter in place, exterior doors are secured where possible, and only law enforcement and emergency personnel are allowed to move freely across the grounds.
Fox News reported that the campus remained on lockdown several hours later, with officers from the university, city, and county agencies patrolling in and around the university. Officials also announced the cancellation of Friday classes and said that counselors would be available for students, steps that often follow a traumatic campus event involving loss of life.
Colleges and universities that receive federal funding are required under the Clery Act to issue timely warnings about certain serious crimes on or near campus and to maintain daily crime logs. While the brief statement referenced in the early reporting satisfies the need for an immediate alert, more detailed notices and updated statistics are typically provided in the days and weeks after an incident.
In addition to legal reporting duties, institutions often face practical expectations from students, parents, and employees. Those include clearly explaining when it is safe to move about campus again, what support services are available, and how the university will review its own response to the emergency.
Community Impact and Unanswered Questions
South Carolina State University, a historically Black institution founded in the 19th century, occupies a central place in Orangeburg’s civic and educational life. A fatal shooting inside student housing not only affects those directly involved but also raises concerns about safety among current students, prospective families, and alumni.
In many campus shootings, community members want to know whether the people involved knew each other, whether the violence stemmed from a personal dispute or another conflict, and how a weapon was brought into a residential building. In this case, none of those points have been addressed in the limited public statements described so far.
Key details remain undisclosed: the identities and ages of the two people who were killed, the medical condition of the injured individual, whether the wounded person has been stabilized, and whether any of the three were enrolled students. Officials have also not said whether any arrests have been made or if they are seeking information from the public.
For those on campus, the timing and content of emergency communications will likely be scrutinized once more information becomes available. Students and staff may seek clarity about when the first calls for help were received, how quickly the lockdown was ordered, what instructions were sent to phones and email accounts, and how long it took before law enforcement declared areas safe.
Families of the victims, as well as the wider university community, may eventually look for a detailed timeline that traces events from the first sign of trouble at Hugine Suites through the law enforcement response, the lifesaving efforts by medical personnel, and the decision to cancel classes and provide counseling.
For now, the picture presented by public reporting is partial. SLED and university officials have confirmed the deaths, acknowledged the injury, and described a continuing lockdown and multiagency patrols, but they have not filled in the circumstances leading up to the shooting or explained what investigators believe happened inside the apartment.
Further clarity is likely to come through additional statements from the university and law enforcement agencies, and potentially through court records if criminal charges are filed. Until those details are released, South Carolina State University remains a campus in mourning, and an investigation into a deadly night at Hugine Suites continues without many answers available to the public.
