NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville police officers and first responders were called to a Saturday evening shooting near Tennessee State University (TSU) that killed one person and injured at least nine others.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), there was an exchange of gunfire between two groups at approximately 5:10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 near the intersection of Jefferson Street and 27th Avenue North. The crowd from TSU’s homecoming celebration had begun to thin out, but the parking lots were still full and Jefferson Street had reopened about 20 minutes before the shooting.

A TSU spokesperson sent the following statement to News 2 around 5:45 p.m.:

Nashville Metro Police are investigating a shooting at 27th and Jefferson near the House of Legends and Jefferson Street Baptist Missionary Baptist Church. Police say the suspect remains at large and everyone should use caution if traveling in the area.

Just after 6:30 p.m., authorities confirmed the scene had been secured.

“At this point, there are 10 victims that have been confirmed to have been involved in that gunfire, one of which is deceased. Five of them were transported from the Nashville Fire Department to local hospitals. Five others were dropped off by private vehicles, and at least some of those that were injured at area hospitals are also suspected to have been involved in the gunfire,” MNPD Public Affairs Officer Brooke Reese said during a briefing shortly before 7:15 p.m.

MNPD later posted on social media platform X that a 24-year-old man had died and three non-critical juvenile victims were at Vanderbilt Pediatrics, but no additional descriptions were provided of the victims at the time.

According to Kendra Loney with the Nashville Fire Department (NFD), crews were already staged throughout the area at the time of the shooting because they were participating in the TSU homecoming parade and engaging with the community amid the festivities.

When the gunfire broke out, Loney said some NFD personnel thought it was fireworks, but when they realized what was happening, they jumped into action, with some even using their belts as tourniquets because they didn’t have their medical bags with them.

“While we don’t wish any ill on anyone, we are upset, we are angry about that disruption, we are angry that there were persons whose days were disrupted, that the innocence in this event was taken away, and that lives were endangered,” Loney said.

Loney reported that one NFD employee was transported for an unrelated medical emergency, in addition to the five people injured in the shooting that NFD brought to the hospital.

“Of course, everybody knows homecoming celebration for Tennessee State University is a huge event,” MNPD Cmdr. Anthony McClain said. “I graduated from Tennessee State University, so my family and I was enjoying this occasion today. It’s unfortunate that a few folks pretty much ruined it for everybody, okay? So we have to come to the point where we stop this violence. Fortunately for us, we had quite a few officers working the area. I think they were able to mitigate the carnage, so to speak. We appreciate that effort. We appreciate the efforts of the fire department, as well.”

According to McClain, the shooting was not a direct reflection on TSU itself and is believed to be something that was “kind of a side bar to the celebration.” He said there have been some shootings up and down the Jefferson Street corridor, but it’s been pretty uneventful for the past couple years.

The commander added that most of the people celebrating TSU’s homecoming were down at Nissan Stadium for the football game against Eastern Illinois University, which kicked off at 5 p.m.

Even Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell put out his own statement about the shooting on X, saying, “Earlier today, hundreds of us marched down historic Jefferson Street for homecoming. What was a joyous atmosphere is tonight very different because of a senseless act of violence carried out by people who didn’t care who else might be caught in the crossfire.”

MNPD Public Affairs Director Don Aaron shared additional details in an 8 p.m. press conference. He reiterated that 10 shooting victims were at area hospitals, but one of those victims — the 24-year-old — had died. Police are confident that at least one of the people at a local hospital was one of the shooters.

According to Aaron, one handgun was found in the street at the scene, and authorities believe handguns were used in the shooting. Meanwhile, MNPD’s Homicide Unit, in conjunction with the Specialized Investigations Division’s TITANS team, has detectives at each hospital to interview the wounded individuals, some of whom are known to the department due to prior interaction with law enforcement.

“This is a very difficult scenario for our city in that just a handful of people, a very small number of people besmirched the celebration of activities for North Nashville and Tennessee State University taking place today,” Aaron said, adding that Saturday morning’s parade had gone off without a hitch and a lot of people had already left for the football game before the shooting took place.

Aaron said officials would have never expected a shooting would happen with all of the law enforcement and first responders present for the homecoming festivities along Jefferson Street.

When asked about a shots fired call that came in around 7:45 p.m. near Nissan Stadium, Aaron said a noise that sounded like a gunshot may have been heard outside the stadium, but there were no reports of anyone being hit or any indication that it was related to the shooting near TSU. He assured the public that officers were stationed in and around the stadium to confirm exactly what happened.

Later in the night, TSU provided more context about the incident at Nissan Stadium, which was separate from the shooting, saying MNPD reported three people were injured following an argument that escalated into a fight in the parking lot.

“According to police, the three were injured when a large crowd began to run for safety, resulting in them being trampled. All were taken to local hospitals,” TSU officials said. “This incident was initially reported as a shooting, but Metro Police have confirmed through video surveillance that this was not the case.”

During a 9 p.m. briefing, Aaron disclosed more details about the victims, saying a 44-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man were at TriStar Skyline Medical Center; the 24-year-old man who died, a 55-year-old woman in critical condition, and a 32-year-old man were brought to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC); a 12-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls were being treated at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt; and a 23-year-old man was at TriStar Centennial Medical Center. All of the victims — except for the 24-year-old who died and the 55-year-old in surgery at VUMC — are expected to recover.

According to Aaron, MNPD is making progress in this homicide investigation, with certain names already developed as potentially being involved in the gunfire and detectives still at hospitals to interview victims.

When asked if the shooting was gang-related, Aaron said there was no indication of any gang relation and that it was just “two groups of people who were beefing and they opened fire on each other with a crowd around.”

In a statement released shortly after 10 p.m., TSU said the shooting happened at a different address than previously reported, saying it was “at 26th and Jefferson, near the House of Legends and Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church, several blocks away from our campus.”

TSU also shared descriptions of “suspects still at large” provided by authorities:

Suspect 1: Male, Black, wearing a green top and pants.

Suspect 2: Male, Black, wearing a black and white top with jeans; possibly in a Ford Fusion.

On Sunday, Oct. 13, MNPD identified the 24-year-old who died in the shooting as Vonquae Johnson.

A press release said detectives “are pursuing strong leads to identify all of the shooters involved in Saturday evening’s gunfire on Jefferson Street at 27th Avenue North.” At this point, law enforcement suspect two of the injured victims in the hospital were involved in the shooting. Both reportedly refused to be interviewed by police at the hospital.

No additional details have been released about Saturday evening’s deadly shooting.