A somber quiet fell over the Livingstone College campus Saturday as students, faculty and the community struggled to understand why one Catawba College student is dead and six Livingstone students are charged with his killing.
Darris Morris, 21, Catawba student and all-conference linebacker, was shot and killed Friday night after an altercation between Catawba and Livingstone students, police said. Salisbury Police arrested six Livingstone freshmen in connection with the killing.
Livingstone officials held meetings Saturday to decide what actions to take. “Our prayers are with the students involved,” Livingstone President Dr. Algeania Freeman said in a written statement.
Freeman told a Post reporter that the two colleges have “a strong relationship.” Freeman has scheduled a meeting between Livingstone and Catawba officials for Monday at 3 p.m. at Catawba.
“We have made a special effort to reach out to each other,” she said. “We want to make sure on Monday that we continue in this positive direction because both institutions are training world leaders.”
Counselors and clergy were gearing up for any outpouring of emotion from the student body. Many Livingstone students learned of the event late Friday night. Reporters were not allowed on the Livingstone campus Saturday to talk with students.
“I was shocked,” said Livingstone freshman Shennell Harris, 18, as she walked from campus. “I got back on campus about 12 o’clock last night and heard about it. Everybody was crying when they found out.”
With the nature of the crime, “we don’t know if we can feel safe now,” Harris added. Harris said she shared a class with Ricardo Lamar Battle, one of the six men charged in the killing.
Livingston officials met with all students Saturday to talk about the shooting. “They (students) are in prayer and being reflective,” said Quentin Johnson, Livingstone’s vice president of student affairs. “They just basically wanted to know what happened. We shared what we had in the (Salisbury Police’s) press release. That’s all we knew. We talked about what we can do to be supportive to both the colleges.”
Along with prayer services Saturday in the student center, Livingstone will hold a worship service for students only today at 2 p.m. in Varick Auditorium. Also, Wednesday’s scheduled game between Catawba and Livingstone women’s basketball teams has been canceled, Freeman said.
Karl Wilson Sr., father of Karl Wilson Jr., another Livingstone student who was charged, said he learned of his son’s arrest when he returned home from work Saturday morning.
“He called my daughter and said he was in jail, there was a fight and somebody died,” Karl Wilson Sr. said from his Atlanta home. Karl Wilson Sr. said going to Livingstone was a dream come true for his son. “We were encouraged,” he said. “He was a B student. He had improved since he got there.”
Karl Wilson Jr. played football in high school and was well-liked by high school classmates and teachers, his father said. He was undecided on a major at Livingstone but was considering something in business, his father said. Wilson Sr. plans to come to Salisbury Monday
Residents living around Livingstone said they saw and heard several ambulances and police officers respond to the guard gate late Friday. Officials were summoned to the college after one of the wounded Livingstone students arrived at the security office.
“Most of the students I know are respectable,” said Michael Kirksey, 42, who lives directly across from the Livingstone campus. “I’ve never seen an incident of violence from anyone there.”
Kirksey said he talked with some students Saturday morning. “They said one thing lead to another,” he said. “It was an escalated event that didn’t need to happen.”
The six men charged live in two separate dorms, Dancy and Tucker, according Johnson. All six were temporarily suspended pending further information from Salisbury Police.
Contact Jonathan Weaver at 704-797-4266 or jweaver@salisburypost.com
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