TSU Shooting 'Very Critically' Injures 1; Gunman At-Large

NASHVILLE, TN — A 19-year-old Chicago native was "very critically" injured in a shooting outside a Tennessee State University dormitory Tuesday, according to police and campus officials. The gunman remains at-large.

Shots were fired outside Boyd Hall Tuesday, hitting Larry Bates, who is now in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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Witnesses told police Bates was speaking to someone in a car before the shooting and that the driver and presumably the shooter fled.

"It's presumed at present as a result of that conversation, a gun shot was fired," Metro Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said. "Mr. Bates was very critically wounded."

Students and faculty received text alerts, but the campus was not locked down because the suspect had left the scene.

MNPD detectives are reviewing surveillance footage from the residence hall and Aaron said TSU's surveillance system, part of widespread campus security upgrades installed following a fatal on-campus shooting in October 2015, will be "very helpful" during the investigation.

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