Edited by Toni Brown
On October 16, 2023, a student was shot and killed on the west side of Jackson State University’s campus late Sunday evening, according to authorities.
The university identified the victim as Jaylen Burns, an industrial technology major from Chicago. Burns was transported to a hospital after the shooting occurred at an apartment complex on campus.
An ongoing investigation is underway at the university following the shooting.
JSU’s acting president, Elayne Hayes-Anthony, issued a news release stating classes at the university were canceled on Monday. Additional security was also being enforced, ensuring the safety of students, staff, and faculty on campus.
Hayes-Anthony, also stated that their thoughts and prayers are with Burns’ family.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jaylen’s family, friends, and all those who knew him,” Hayes-Anthony said. “We grieve the tragic loss of his life due to this senseless act of violence.”
Burns was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at JSU. He was also the president of C100, JSU’s affiliate chapter of the 100 Black Men of America.
This is the second shooting over the course of JSU’s homecoming weekend according to The Clarion Ledger. On Saturday night, a shooting occurred near JSU involving non-university-affiliated individuals.
According to BET, the shooting follows a series of shootings during the 2023 HBCU homecoming season. On Oct. 3, a shooting occurred at Morgan State University in Baltimore. On Oct. 7, another shooting occurred at Bowie State University injuring two individuals. Another incident involving gun violence this month also occurred at Tuskegee University.
As of the date of this article, 34,237 have died from gun violence-related injuries in the United States this year according to the Gun Violence Archive. Roughly 44%, or 15, 097 deaths, were incidents of homicide, murder; defensive gun use or unintentionally caused.
The data also shows that 2023 has seen 550 reported mass shootings throughout the United States. In reported gun violence deaths this year, 237 were children under the age of 11, and 1,136 were teenagers between 12 and 17 years old.
In an article by Everytown Research, the website states “gun violence affects every person in America, but the weight of this crisis is not felt equally across demographic groups.”
The report states that compared to their white peers, Black individuals are 12 times more likely to die by gun homicide. In acts of violence against trans individuals, 67% of homicide victims killed by a gun were Black women. Police were twice as likely to use physical force on Latinx individuals compared to their white peers, and Native American women were three times more likely to be killed by their partners compared to white women.
Burns’ death is another act of gun violence throughout the United States that occurred in Jackson, Mississippi. In a Monday press conference, according to the Clarion-Ledger, Jackson mayor Chokee Antar Lumumba spoke about Burns’ untimely death.
“We recognize the family and the loss of life of the JSU student, Jaylen Burns,” Mayor Lumumba said. “We join not only his family in condolences and our grief over their loss but the entire JSU family.”
