A shooting early Saturday morning on Savannah State University’s campus left one man dead.
The victim, 20-year-old Donald Bernard Lewis, was not a student at the college, said SSU spokeswoman Loretta Heyward. No additional injuries were reported.
It was unclear Saturday what led to the shooting at the University Village before 3:30 a.m. that was responded to by campus police, Savannah-Chatham police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation has been turned over to the GBI, Heyward said.
Early in the investigation, GBI agents had yet to determine a motive for the shooting that sent Lewis to Memorial University Medical Center where he died.
“We haven’t been able to piece all that together so far,” said GBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Eve Rogers. “We’re following leads and continuing on in this investigation.”
No information about possible suspects was released; Rogers said none had been identified as of Saturday evening.
Savannah State locked down the campus immediately after the incident and sent out alerts to students about the incident through its SSU ALERT email system.
In a statement released later Saturday, SSU President Cheryl Dozier said “the safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors is our top priority.”
Calling the incident “tragic,” Dozier called for the Savannah State community to work together to keep crime off the campus.
“With the awareness of this tragic event and others on campuses across our country in recent years, we must be diligent about our vigilance and efforts to prevent crime,” Dozier said. “Campus safety is our highest priority and is absolutely critical to a student’s success in the classroom and the ability of employees to perform their jobs effectively.”
Professional counselors, Dozier added, were being made available to speak with students or others in the university community.
Lewis’ death marked the 19th homicide reported in Chatham County this year. It was the first outside of Savannah-Chatham police’s jurisdiction.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Savannah State University Department of Public Safety at 912-358-3004. Anonymous tips can also be called into CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). Tipsters to CrimeStoppers remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.