{
  "id": "2025-10-24-howard-university-homecoming-shooting",
  "slug": "howard-university-homecoming-shooting-2025-10-24",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Howard University",
    "shortName": "Howard",
    "state": "DC",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "alertSystemName": "HU Alert / Bison Safe",
    "enrollment": 12500
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-10-24",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Five people shot near campus during homecoming weekend; teenager later charged",
    "headlinePublic": "Five people shot near campus during homecoming weekend; teenager later charged",
    "summary": "On Friday evening, October 24, 2025, [shots were fired in the 600 block of Howard Place NW](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/10/24/shot-howard-homecoming-georgia-avenue/) just before 8:30 PM EDT during Howard University's 101st homecoming weekend, wounding three men, one woman, and a 13-year-old boy. [Howard Public Safety pushed a campus alert at 8:35 PM EDT](https://hbcugameday.com/2025/10/24/howard-university-homecoming-interrupted-by-mass-shooting/) warning of increased police presence and reports of open gunfire near campus. None of the victims were Howard students; one attended Morgan State, the opposing team in the next day's homecoming football game. [17-year-old Kaevaughn Dudley was later arrested](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/teen-shooter-arrested-and-charged-october-2025-shooting-howard-universitys-homecoming) and charged on 20 counts.",
    "outcome": "Five people were shot (three men, one woman, and a 13-year-old), all initially reported with non-life-threatening injuries; one Morgan State student victim was later reported to have been paralyzed. MPD and HUPD officers pursued and apprehended two suspects at the scene; three weapons were recovered. Three weeks later, 17-year-old Kaevaughn Dudley of Washington, DC was arrested and charged with 20 counts associated with the October 24 shooting and was ordered held without bond.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 5
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-10-24T20:35:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://hbcugameday.com/2025/10/24/howard-university-homecoming-interrupted-by-mass-shooting/",
      "sourceDescription": "HBCU Gameday reporting on Howard campus alert",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of Friday, October 24, 2025 EDT, shortly after the incident",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "CRIME ALERT – Shooting\n\nThe Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is investigating a shooting that occurred near the 2500 block of Georgia Ave. and the 600 block of Howard Place NW at 8:22 pm. \n\n \n\nThere were several people injured during the shooting and they were taken to a local hospital; two suspects were taken into custody. \n\n \n\nPreliminary investigation is being conducted. No further information at this time.\n\nPlease avoid the area.\n\n \n\nIf you have information about this incident, please contact the HU Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 202-806-1100 or call 911 to reach MPD.\n\nThe Howard University Department of Public Safety notifies the University community when crimes are reported that present a continuing threat to students, faculty, or staff in a manner consistent with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.\n\nGeneral Safety Tips:\n\n• Avoid isolated and dark areas. \n• Carry your mobile phone and keep it accessible. \n• Do not use doors marked as fire exits, prop, or obstruct them for unauthorized access. \n• If you are approached, take note of the person’s appearance, clothing, and anything that will help to identify the subject. \n• Immediately report any suspicious activity or suspicious individuals to the Howard University Police Department at 202-806-1100. Program this number into your mobile phone for quick access.\n\n \n\nStay Bison Safe,\n\n \n\nDepartment of Public Safety\n\n(202) 806-1100\n\nHudps@howard.edu",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.howard.edu/articles/crime-alert-10242025",
      "sourceDescription": "Howard DPS CRIME ALERT — Shooting 10.24.2025",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text from the Howard University DPS official crime alert archive, a Clery-required timely warning published on publicsafety.howard.edu for the October 24, 2025 homecoming shooting",
        "The alert names the exact MPD investigation as the source, notes injuries were non-fatal, confirms two suspects in custody, and directs questions to the DPS at 202-806-1100 or 911",
        "Howard's crime alert language notably uses 'near the 2500 block of Georgia Ave. and the 600 block of Howard Place NW' (two block faces) rather than naming the specific shooting spot, consistent with Clery compliance framing"
      ],
      "characterCount": 1481
    }
  ],
  "context": "Howard University's 101st homecoming weekend was unfolding on Friday, October 24, 2025 when [Metropolitan Police Department and HUPD officers responded to reports of gunfire near the 2500 block of Georgia Avenue and Howard Place NW at about 8:22 PM EDT](https://wtop.com/dc/2025/10/shots-fired-near-howard-university-during-homecoming-weekend/), discovering three men, one woman, and a 13-year-old boy with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Howard's Public Safety office [pushed a campus alert at 8:35 PM EDT](https://hbcugameday.com/2025/10/24/howard-university-homecoming-interrupted-by-mass-shooting/) (roughly 13 minutes after officers responded) warning of increased police presence and gunfire near campus. MPD and HUPD pursued and apprehended two individuals at the scene, recovering three weapons. While none of the victims were Howard students, one was attending Morgan State University, the opposing team in the [following day's homecoming football game](https://www.washingtoninformer.com/homecoming-gunfire-howard-university/). One of the victims, a college student, was [later reported to have been paralyzed](https://wtop.com/dc/2025/11/college-student-paralyzed-13-year-old-wounded-in-october-shooting-at-howard-universitys-homecoming/). Three weeks later, the [U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. announced charges against 17-year-old Kaevaughn Dudley](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/teen-shooter-arrested-and-charged-october-2025-shooting-howard-universitys-homecoming) on 20 counts. The shooting marked the second consecutive year that violence disrupted Howard's homecoming (following the October 2024 incident, which is documented separately in this archive) and intensified longstanding tensions between HBCU homecoming traditions and the public-safety challenges of campus-adjacent neighborhoods.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 8:35 PM EDT alert was sent roughly 13 minutes after officers responded to the 8:22 PM EDT gunfire report, demonstrating that Howard Public Safety retained notification capacity even during high-volume homecoming events",
    "Howard's explicit framing ('none of the victims were Howard students') illustrates how HBCUs distinguish campus-affiliated victimization from proximity-based harm in their alert language",
    "The shooting was the second consecutive Howard homecoming disrupted by gunfire (following October 2024), raising persistent questions about [HBCU homecoming security planning](https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/morgan-state-university-homecoming-security-HLFFD5AHIBHSFLDLOBK7OCQ5PI/)",
    "One of the five victims (a college student) was later reported to have been paralyzed, an outcome that the initial 'non-life-threatening' alert language did not anticipate"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "CRIME ALERT - 10.24.2025 (Howard University Department of Public Safety)",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.howard.edu/articles/crime-alert-10242025",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Howard University Statement on the Recent Shooting Incident (The Dig at Howard)",
      "url": "https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/howard-university-statement-recent-shooting-incident",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Teen Shooter Arrested and Charged for October 2025 Shooting at Howard University's Homecoming (US Attorney DC)",
      "url": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/teen-shooter-arrested-and-charged-october-2025-shooting-howard-universitys-homecoming",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Howard University homecoming interrupted by mass shooting (HBCU Gameday)",
      "url": "https://hbcugameday.com/2025/10/24/howard-university-homecoming-interrupted-by-mass-shooting/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "5 shot near Howard University during homecoming weekend, 2 suspects in custody (WTOP)",
      "url": "https://wtop.com/dc/2025/10/shots-fired-near-howard-university-during-homecoming-weekend/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Five people, including 13-year-old, injured in October shooting during Howard University's homecoming weekend (WTOP)",
      "url": "https://wtop.com/dc/2025/11/college-student-paralyzed-13-year-old-wounded-in-october-shooting-at-howard-universitys-homecoming/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Four shot Friday night near scheduled Howard homecoming (Washington Post)",
      "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/10/24/shot-howard-homecoming-georgia-avenue/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "D.C. Shooting Shakes Up Howard University Homecoming (Washington Informer)",
      "url": "https://www.washingtoninformer.com/homecoming-gunfire-howard-university/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "hbcu",
    "howard",
    "dc",
    "homecoming",
    "near-campus",
    "bison",
    "alert-archive",
    "rapid-notification",
    "georgia-avenue"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-17",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}