One dead, one critically injured after dorm shooting at Kentucky State University

Kentucky State University (KSU) has suspended classes and exams for the rest of the week after a shooting in a campus residence hall left one student dead and another in critical but stable condition.

Police say the incident happened on Tuesday afternoon in a dormitory on the south side of the Frankfort campus, prompting an immediate lockdown as authorities responded to what was described as an “active aggressor” situation.

A suspect — who investigators say is not a KSU student — was arrested at the scene and is now in custody. Officers have stressed that the shooting appears to have been an isolated incident rather than a mass attack.

Governor Andy Beshear was the first to confirm the incident publicly, posting on X that “violence has no place in our commonwealth or country” and calling for prayers for the families and KSU students, while thanking law enforcement for acting quickly.

The response involved KSU campus police, the Frankfort Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. At a news conference on Tuesday evening, Frankfort assistant police chief Scott Tracy said campus officers moved “swiftly” and detained the suspect before city police arrived. Local, state and federal agencies are now assisting with the investigation.

In a statement on its website, the university said that, out of respect for the victims and their families, it would not release names or detailed medical information at this stage, adding that it is “in close contact with the families and… providing every available support to them.”

KSU has cancelled all classes, final examinations and campus activities for the remainder of the week and is allowing students the option of returning home.

Describing the shooting as a “senseless tragedy”, KSU President Koffi C. Akakpo said he could not imagine receiving the kind of call he had to place to parents earlier in the day.

The university says counselling and support services are being offered to students, faculty and staff affected by the incident.

Kentucky State University, based on a roughly 1,000-acre campus in Frankfort, has more than 2,200 students and around 450 faculty and staff members.