YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Early Sunday morning at Youngstown State University, one student was killed and 11 others were wounded after an altercation between two groups of students occurred at an Omega Psi Phi fraternity house party.
Jamail E. Johnson, 25, a senior at Youngstown State University, died after being shot once in the head and multiple times in his lower body. According to witnesses, Johnson was shot after he attempted to break up a fight between two groups at the party.
Law enforcement and university officials confirmed that two men who were kicked out of the party returned and pelted the building with gunfire. Those in attendance stormed out of the house to escape the gunfire. One of the victims, a 17-year-old woman, was critically wounded. The wounded ranged in age from 17 to 31; six were students.
Two suspects have been arrested on charges of aggravated murder, and 11 counts of felonious assault. The suspects, Braylon L. Rogers, 19, and Columbus E. Jones Jr., 22, are currently being held at the Mahoning County Jail.
In a statement to the Youngstown Vindicator, the city’s local newspaper, First Ward Councilwoman Annie Gillam said it’s hard to make sense of the tragedy, which occurred in her ward of the city.
“It’s a sad day. We need to find a way to make our young people value life — their own and other people’s lives and how to deal with conflict,” she said.
Approximately 15,000 students attend the university, which is located near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Members of the university-sanctioned fraternity lived at the house.
Fraternities, whether at HBCUs or on predominantly white campuses, may need to focus more on ducation and being role models for others as opposed to being vehicles for party promotion. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
