Virginia State University shooting suspect sent Instagram chat saying ‘I’m tryna find the gun’

A shooting Saturday at Virginia State University that injured five people is alleged to have stemmed from an argument involving the suspect, court documents say.

The suspect, whom Chesterfield County police identified as Camron Harris, 19, also discussed the shooting in Instagram messages, according to the documents.

The early-morning shooting in the area of the Quad Annexes critically injured a 21-year-old man. A 17-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman and a 20-year-old VSU student sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Harris, who is not a student at the school, was found Saturday afternoon hiding in the closet of a women’s dorm room, according to court documents. He has been charged with multiple counts of use of a firearm and malicious wounding, court records show.

It’s not clear whether he has an attorney.

Police were called to the historically Black university in Ettrick, near Petersburg, around 1:30 a.m. Saturday for reports of gunfire. Officers located a firearm and several cartridge casings and saw vehicles and structures that had been struck, court documents say.

A person told police that they heard that Harris was involved in the shooting and that Harris and another person had a verbal dispute earlier in the day, the documents say. The person also said their friend overheard Harris say he was going to come back to the school and shoot, according to the court documents.

A second person also came forward and told police they heard a man named Camron was planning to shoot because of an earlier argument, the documents say.

Investigators learned that Harris had posted an Instagram Story of the VSU campus shortly before the shooting. They also obtained Instagram messages between Harris and another person in which he is alleged to have talked about finding a gun and shooting at the school, according to the documents.

In one message, a person asked Harris whether he heard the gunfire.

“It was us,” Harris responded, according to the court documents.

In messages to another person who asked Harris whether he wanted to go for a walk, Harris responded, “I’m tryna find the gun.”

“wait,” the person responded, including cat-laughing emojis.

“Oh yes,” Harris said, the documents say.

“Lemme help you,” the person is alleged to have written back.

The court documents allege that Harris sent a photo of a gun followed by a message that read: “We js got the shootin.”

Detectives were able to ping Harris’ phone, which showed he was at the school. They later found him hiding in a dorm room.

The court documents say Harris confirmed to a detective that the Instagram account belonged to him and said no one else uses it. He denied possessing a firearm and allowed the detective to look through his phone, they say. A detective observed photos of a firearm that matched the one sent in his Instagram account, according to the court documents.

Harris also mentioned a group chat on his Instagram page that included other people associated with the shooting, but the app had been deleted from his phone, the documents say.