The ODU community was thrown into disarray in late February after an altercation in a student dining hall led to a shooting that left 2 young Norfolk men dead. This incident reignited debates about the university’s response to violence on campus, the effectiveness of ODU campus police at preventing crime and addressing crises, and the general safety of students on and off campus.
According to a police statement issued to all current ODU students, at 9:50 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2025, a shooting took place in ODU parking lot L-3 off of 49th street beside Broderick Dining Commons. Students were initially advised to shelter in place, but the shelter in place order was lifted at 11:43 p.m. after the ODU PD declared the situation to no longer be a danger to ODU students.
Students’ initial reactions as the shooting occurred were of shock and disbelief, before several students fled the immediate area in terror. The author of this piece, Quinn Summers, lives in the immediate area of the Broderick Dining Commons dining hall and as such was able to witness the immediate aftermath as it unfolded. In the ensuing hour and a half between the shelter in place order being issued and lifted, students were left terrified and unsure of what was going on. This reporter heard several students outside her window wondering aloud whether there was an active shooter on campus, as no details were available at the time.
The lifting of the shelter in place order itself generated significant controversy, with students wondering online how the ODU PD could lift the order without a suspect in custody or assurance the perpetrator wouldn’t return to the scene of the crime.
Meanwhile, a student leaving an event at the Webb center was forced to turn back and take shelter inside the building with several of his peers after the shelter in place order was issued.
On the evening of Feb. 26, ODU student Adam Mandell was leaving the Webb Center after attending the ODU Sapphic Soiree with some friends when, at 9:39 p.m., he heard a series of loud noises. “We were taking pictures and at 9:38/9:39 we heard some gunshots. At first I thought it might’ve been the train tracks making weird noises but it sounded too close” said Mandell. “I ran inside and told everyone to keep inside, got people to guard the doors and make sure no one leaves, updating everyone as I could.”
His group sheltered in place for around 20 minutes until, at around 10 p.m., he was accosted by a university employee. “Eventually it became 10 and staff tried kicking us out, we basically had to argue with them to let us stay. We were mostly talking to this one guy and her supervisor came to us and was like, ‘get out it’s safe, I was just out there and the cops told me it was okay.’ And I was like no they didn’t tell you that, there’s still a shelter in place order, that’s a lie.”
He then called ODU PD, who confirmed that the shelter in place order had not been lifted. His group sheltered until ODU PD issued their all clear message, and then walked back to their residence halls together.
Mandell emphasized that this event was extremely distressing for the students involved: “When they tried getting us kicked out everyone was obviously upset and 2 ish people alongside me were speaking up and were pretty pissed and scared. Everyone not talking looked super nervous…”
The February shooting is far from the only serious crime to have occurred on ODU’s campus itself. On Sept. 3, 2024, right at the beginning of the fall semester, four students in Scotland House residence hall were robbed at gunpoint in the second floor community room. The perpetrators were again off-campus locals, presumed to have some familiarity with campus facilities. Additional security measures were officially put in place to prevent non-ODU students from gaining access to residence halls without access. However, this reporter can attest that these measures were laxened within a week of implementation and dropped entirely within 2 weeks. Students were also promised “additional police presence” following the incident, but without any transparency in the program, it is difficult to quantify how effective these measures were. In any event, they either expired prior to the February incident or, perhaps more alarmingly, were still in place but ineffective.
While Adam’s account of ODU’s management of the situation certainly paints a troubling picture, he’s far from the only student with complaints about how the university has managed this incident. The Mace and Crown interviewed ODU senior Emily Beth about her thoughts on the ongoing issue of crime and public safety on campus.
When asked about the purported increases in security after the September incident, Beth stated that: “Being off-campus, I didn’t notice any increased security measures near campus housing, although being that ODU’s campus is open to the public, it does concern me that our educational facilities don’t have much regulation of who is entering, especially given the student recreation and wellness center has had repeat offenses since I’ve been at ODU.”
Emily echoed a sentiment seen often among students online in the aftermath of the February shooting, that ODU’s response was either insensitive or insufficient: “I felt the responses to these incidences [sic] have been a bit cold, and lack in being reflective of the genuine fear students who live on campus are facing. While ODU does have support resources, I didn’t feel that they were the kind of support students needed.”
She also stated the incident had changed her perception of ODU PD: “These types of events have impacted my perception of the campus police, in addition to many other students at ODU. Although they cannot prevent all acts of violence, they are responsible for the response to prevent them from evolving further”
These comments are partially in response to ODU president Brian Hemphill’s official response to the February 26th shooting, which was criticized on social media sites like Instagram and YikYak for being insensitive and minimizing the incident. In his statement, titled “An Expression of Sympathy and a Call For Action,” President Hemphill stated that “the incident resulted in the passing of two individuals,” before going on to clarify that “These individuals were not Old Dominion University students, faculty, or staff.” This statement primarily drew criticism due to the wording of the statement, as despite the letter’s title literally declaring itself “An Expression of Sympathy,” the statement distances itself from the victims before even attempting to offer condolences. Likewise, despite the controversy surrounding ODU PD’s response to the incident, the statement spends nearly half of its entire length heaping praise on ODU PD, while only spending one sentence on the victims. It is worth mentioning that at no point were ODU PD officers ever actually in danger during this incident.
From allegations of police and faculty misconduct to a controversial public response to the shooting, ODU’s handling can hardly be described as competent. It is clear at this point that ODU is facing an epidemic of violent crime on campus, and students are expressing their doubts that ODU PD and administration are up to the task of handling this crisis. The responsibility for resolving these worries falls squarely on the shoulders of President Hemphill. Only time will tell if his administration is capable of stemming the rising tide of violent crime on campus before the body count grows higher.
This story was originally published in the Mace and Crown’s Fall 2024 magazine.
