DOVER Delaware
Tension between rival groups of friends from New Jersey and Washington, D.C., preceded the late-night shooting at Delaware State University that wounded two people, students said.
While investigators worked to find the shooter who opened fire early Friday as several students left a campus dining hall, a classmate recalled how the violence had escalated from altercations during the week.
“They’ve been getting into it, New Jersey people and D.C. people,” James Dillion, 23, said Saturday.
“Thursday night, they saw each other again and got into it,” he said. “Everybody’s still astonished about what happened.”
The shootings, reported to police at 12:54 a.m. Friday, occurred after a group of students left the Village Cafe dining hall and ran into another group as they walked across campus. Nathaniel Pugh, 17, was in stable condition Saturday with an ankle wound, while Shalita Middleton, also 17, was shot in the abdomen and remained in serious condition, university officials said.
Police questioned and released two students described as persons of interest. Police have not labeled either person a suspect, and no arrests have been made.
