RALEIGH, N.C. —The North Carolina chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statements in response to a mass shooting early Sunday morning on campus at Elizabeth City State University, an HBCU in Elizabeth City. While details are still emerging, reports show at least one person was shot and killed, and at least four were shot and wounded, including three students. Two people were injured in the “subsequent commotion.” No information about the suspect has been released.
“We’re seeing a pattern here. There have been too many times where celebrations at HBCUs are ruined because of America’s gun violence crisis,” said JaMarah Davis, a volunteer with North Carolina A&T University’s Students Demand Action chapter. “Our hearts rage for everyone impacted by this weekend’s shooting. Students should be able to enjoy their college experience without it ending in bloodshed. We’re committed to honoring the victim and survivors of this tragedy by defeating the anti-gun safety laws North Carolina lawmakers are trying to pass this session.”
“What happened at Elizabeth City State University is yet another reminder that no place is safe from gun violence—not even our kids’ college campuses. Students should be safe to live and learn, not constantly fear for their lives. This is unacceptable,” by Rebecca Trotsky, a volunteer with the North Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Instead of prioritizing gun safety, our lawmakers have been pushing deadly policies like permitless carry. We are done begging. It’s time for lawmakers to choose: protect our kids or protect the gun lobby.”
This horrific shooting comes just weeks after a mass shooting at Florida State University, where two people were shot and killed and five others were shot and wounded.
It also comes as lawmakers in North Carolina are attempting to pass HB 5 and SB 50, bills that would dismantle North Carolina’s existing concealed carry permitting system by allowing individuals to carry concealed, hidden guns in public spaces without a permit—effectively eliminating all safeguards put in place by the current permitting system, including a background check, safety training, and live-fire training. In addition, these bills would lower the age to conceal carry from 21 to 18, allowing college-age students more access to firearms. People aged 18 to 20 are three times more likely to commit gun homicides than those 21 and older. When more people are armed in more places, any random confrontation increases the risk of gun violence anywhere people gather, including college campuses.
The last thing North Carolina needs is for lawmakers to weaken existing commonsense gun safety laws further. States that removed their concealed carry permit requirements between 1999 and 2021 saw, on average, a 27 percent increase in gun homicides within three years of the change—the U.S. as a whole saw less than half that increase.
Lawmakers should learn from past mistakes. In 2023, North Carolina lawmakers weakened our gun laws by voting to override then-Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of SB 41, a bill that repealed the state’s permit-to-purchase system. In the 12 months after the purchase permit requirement was repealed, handgun sales increased dramatically, with 27 mass shootings in North Carolina during the same period, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Gun violence disproportionately affects Black and Latinx communities—30% of gunfire on school grounds occurs most often at schools with a majority of students of color, disproportionately affecting Black students. Although Black students represent approximately 15 percent of the total K–12 school population in the US, they make up 30 percent of the average population at schools that have been impacted by a fatal shooting. When firearms are the leading cause of death for children, teens and young adults in North Carolina, lawmakers should be prioritizing gun safety, not dismantling laws that prevent gun violence.
This is the 19th shooting on a college campus and the second mass shooting on a college campus in 2025. This shooting is the 82nd mass shooting of 2025.
In an average year, 1,714 people die by guns and 4,197 are wounded by guns in North Carolina. With a rate of 16.0 deaths per 100,000 people, North Carolina has the 23rd-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. 53% of gun deaths are by gun suicide. Read more about gun violence in North Carolina here.