Texas Southern University (shortened to Texas Southern or simply TSU) is a historically black university (HBCU) located in Houston, Texas, accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The University was established in 1927 as the Houston Colored Junior College. It developed through its private college phase as the four-year Houston Colored College. On March 3, 1947, the state declared this to be the first state university in Houston; it was renamed Texas State University for Negroes. In 1951, the name changed to Texas Southern University.
Texas Southern University is one of the largest and most comprehensive HBCUs in the nation. TSU is one of only four independent public universities in Texas (those not affiliated with any of Texas' six public university systems) and the only HBCU in Texas recognized as one of America's Top Colleges by Forbes magazine. TSU is the leading producer of college degrees to African Americans and Hispanics in Texas and ranks 4th in the United States in doctoral and professional degrees conferred to African Americans. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Waldivia Ardlaw of Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston wrote that the university serves as "the cultural and community center of" the Third Ward area where it is located, in addition to being its university.
The 20-year-old accused gunman in a shooting on the campus property of Texas Southern University is now in police custody. Darrius Nichols, 20, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Houston Police Department says he's not a TSU student, but the university says he's enrolled as a sophomore and is from Garland, Texas. The shooting happened on Blodgett Street around 8:30pm in the parking lot of the Tierwester Oaks section of the University Courtyard Apartment Complex owned by the university. TSU student Cameron Allen said he was there when the shooting started. "I just started running," he said. "Everybody started running."
The TSU officer who first arrived on the scene found a man firing into a crowd, injuring a man and woman. The officer told the shooter to drop his weapon, but HPD says instead he turned, so the TSU officer opened fire. The suspect wasn't injured and surrendered. The male victim, LaKeytric Quinn, is in critical condition at a local hospital. The female victim, Alexandra Nicks, was treated and released from a local hospital. She is not a student, according to HPD. The campus was not placed on a lock down because officials believe it was an isolated incident, Pickens said. TSU student Alex Mayfield said, "This is Texas Southern University, it's a good school, so I mean, I'm not going to let this stop me from coming here or just being a student here." The shooting is still under investigation and is being handled by TSU Police Department and HPD.
