Gunman At Towson University ID'd; Campus Officer Suspended

TOWSON, MD — The suspect in the triple shooting at Towson University has been arrested, according to police.

Police said the suspected gunman was among the three people treated for gunshot wounds after shots rang out on the campus early Saturday morning.

The shooting broke out around 2 a.m. during an event that Towson University officials said drew hundreds and had not been sanctioned by the university.

Samuel Osinachi Nnam, 19, of Greenbelt, is charged with the following, court records show:

• Two counts of attempted first-degree murder
• Two counts of first-degree assault
• Two counts of second-degree assault
• Using a firearm in a felony
• Handgun on person
• Loaded handgun on person

"Based on evidence collected at the scene and surveillance video, Nnam began to discharge the firearm he was carrying striking himself and two others; one of the injured [was] a TU student," the Baltimore County Police Department said in a statement Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Police said they arrested Nnam Tuesday soon after he was released from an area hospital. He is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center without bail. A bail review hearing is slated for 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Baltimore County District Court.

Authorities said the shots were fired in Freedom Square on the university's academic campus, sending three people to area hospitals.

The Towson University student who was shot has been released from the hospital, campus officials reported Tuesday. Police said the other victim, who had also been hospitalized, was in stable condition.

Based on an internal review, one campus security officer was suspended and placed on paid leave, according to a joint statement from Towson University President Kim Schatzel, Vice President of Student Affairs Vernon Hurte and Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Charles “Joe” Herring.

"The officer has been suspended pending a full investigation into whether they performed established procedures that evening during the unsanctioned event, where approximately 400 people gathered near Freedom Square," the statement said.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Towson University is taking these steps to increase safety:

• Doubling foot patrols on campus through the Towson University Office of Public Safety.
• Increasing unsanctioned event monitoring and engaging with attendees no matter where on campus or what time.
• Partnering with Student Affairs to engage the campus in university-sanctioned events.

Access to and monitoring of campus spaces and resources, including visitor parking, is also being reviewed by Towson University leadership.

"Our campus has been recognized as one of the safest in the nation, and we are committed to do all we can to make our students, faculty and staff continue to feel safe whenever and wherever they are on campus," Schatzel, Hurte and Herring wrote in a statement Tuesday about the response to the shooting at Towson University. "Trespassing is not welcome on our campus and violence has no place on it either."

In 2018 and 2019 the National Council for Home Safety and Security ranked Towson University among the safest campuses in the United States, based on federal data.

See Also:

• Towson University: How To Use Towson University's Numerous Safety Resources
• 3 Shot, Injured At Towson University: Police