Keith Srakocic, pool photo via AP Students and coaches standing in an area reserved for the Duquesne University basketball team participate in Mass on campus last night in the wake of a shooting incident in which five players were wounded. Click photo for larger image

By Bill Schackner
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Police patrols were tripled on the Duquesne University campus yesterday after a gunman sprayed bullets into a group of basketball players leaving a dance in the student union.

Five Duquesne University basketball players were wounded in a campus shooting. Top row: Sam Ashaolu, left, is in critical condition. Stuard Baldonado, right, is hospitalized. Bottom row: Kojo Mensah, left, remains hospitalized. Aaron Jackson, center, and Shawn James were treated and released. Click photo for larger image. Related coverage Duquesne U. students, parents refusing to panic after shootings Duquesne coach says he's proud of players' responses after crisis Profiles of wounded Duquesne University basketball players Graphic: How the Duquesne University shootings happened

Five of the basketball players were wounded, one critically. Three remained hospitalized last night at Mercy and UPMC Presbyterian hospitals.

The shootings occurred about 2:15 a.m. on Academic Walk following a dance in the Duquesne Union attended by 200 people and sponsored by the university's Black Student Union.

As city police searched for the shooter and perhaps one other gunman, campus officials offered crisis counseling for what Duquesne President Charles J. Dougherty called a tragedy unprecedented in the Catholic school's 128 years.

"We are a community of faith, and so our first instinct, our first response, is prayer for those who have been wounded and prayer for their families," Dr. Dougherty said during an afternoon news conference. "The entire Duquesne community is saddened and shocked."

University officials said they were unclear on the motive for the shooting, which followed a verbal altercation on the campus of nearly 10,000 students. They could not confirm reports circulating among students that the incident involved a woman.

The most seriously injured student was 6-foot-7 forward Sam Ashaolu, 23, a transfer from Lake Region Community College in North Dakota and a cousin of former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon. Reportedly shot in the head, Mr. Ashaolu was in critical condition at Mercy Hospital.

The other two hospitalized players were Stuard Baldonado, 21, a 6-7 transfer from Miami Dade College who was in serious condition at Mercy Hospital, and Kojo Mensah, age unavailable, a transfer from Siena College who was admitted to UPMC Presbyterian for observation.

Treated and released were Aaron Jackson, 20, a guard who is one of only two returning players from Duquesne's 3-24 team of last season, and Shawn James, 23, who transferred from Northeastern University.

City police were looking for a black man about 5 feet 4 inches tall who was wearing a white T-shirt. He was seen running from campus onto Forbes Avenue after firing six to 12 shots from a semiautomatic handgun.

Duquesne officials said a second person who may have flashed a gun also fled campus.

The gunman and any companions are not believed to be Duquesne students. Police and Duquesne officials believe they were at the dance, called "College Bash '06," as guests.

	Audio: Duquesne University President Charles J. Dougherty, front, provides details of the shooting as he appears with Athletic Director Greg Amodio during an afternoon press conference. Click arrow icon to launch audio

Asked what could have sparked the shooting, Dr. Dougherty said he'd be guessing and added, "What motive could there have been for unloading a pistol into a group of students?"

Officials said two campus police officers who provided security at the dance in the Duquesne Union ballroom told supervisors they were unaware of any problems during the event, an account echoed by students interviewed yesterday. "It was a very pleasant social event," Dr. Dougherty said.

But outside the building afterward, witnesses and officials described a scene of chaos and heroism as police cars and ambulances flooded onto campus.

Police and university officials said the shooter and his companions encountered the basketball players as they were leaving, and that the suspect exchanged words with the players. The athletes walked away but were followed through campus by the suspect, who began firing on Academic Walk near Vickroy Hall and Duquesne Towers.

"There was a city police officer running around saying, 'Lock down the dorms! Lock down the dorms!' " said Mo Mozuch, 22, of Polish Hill, a graduate student and editor of the student newspaper, The Duquesne Duke, who was dropping off a friend near the scene shortly after the shootings.

"The guy I saw getting loaded in, neck brace and everything, he didn't look too good," Mr. Mozuch said of one of the victims.

At the news conference, Dr. Dougherty said students and players acted as a team, "in some cases heroically, pulling people out of the line of fire, getting them assistance, rendering first aid."

Dr. Dougherty said the wounded players were strictly victims. "They had nothing to do by way of provoking it."

The university has launched its own investigation, but he said there were no indications that any campus rules were violated, and no indication that alcohol was involved.

	Keith Srakocic, pool photo via AP Members of the basketball team file into the chapel at Old Main on the Duquesne University campus last night for Mass. Click photo for larger image.

The entire campus police force was called in after the shooting, and officers were posted outside residence halls. Police remained highly visible throughout the day, but Dr. Dougherty said it was strictly a precaution and that officials knew early on that the shooter had fled campus.

"An event of this sort has never happened before on Duquesne University's campus. It's a safe campus. It's known to be a safe campus," he said.

The parents of Mr. Ashaolu arrived from Toronto to be with their son.

"Great kid. Very hard worker from what I had seen so far," said Duquesne Athletic Director Greg Amodio. "He was very aggressive, very much excited about being here and being part of the program."

Mr. Amodio and newly hired basketball coach Ron Everhart, who came from Northeastern University in Boston, phoned families of the victims from the campus president's office at 3:30 a.m. in the presence of crisis counselors. Officials met with shaken members of the team early yesterday, offering assurance.

Duquesne officials, who have been working to rebuild the basketball program, now are faced with a team tragedy weeks before basketball practice is to begin Oct. 13.

"At this point, we're not even considering the ramifications of this to the basketball program," said Mr. Amodio.

Promotional cards for the dance found near campus yesterday said it was scheduled from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Officials said a large number of attendees were not from Duquesne, but officials could not confirm reports from students that as many as two thirds of the dance-goers were from off campus.

	Keith Srakocic, pool photo via AP Fathers Tim Hickey, Naos McCool and Ray French concelebrate Mass at Old Main on the Duquesne campus. Last night members of the men's basketball team filled several pews. Click photo for larger image.

Last night, members of the basketball team filed in together for the regular Sunday night Mass on campus -- a somber group of tall young men -- and sat in reserved seats as the Rev. Tim Hickey, director of campus ministry, assured the gathered students that they are safe and that the university family will stick together,

"We are a tight-knit community," he said. "What affects one of us affects all of us."

He called on all members of that community to think of the injured students "and hold them in our prayers."

At the beginning of the regular Mass, the Rev. Ray French offered a prayer: "If we have sinned, we pray for forgiveness," he said, and asked for "courage in these dark days."

University officials asked media members to leave for the remainder of the Mass, out of respect for the students.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call city homicide detectives at 412-323-7161.