Two men were killed and a third was injured in a shooting at 9:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, 2026, on South Carolina State University’s campus in Orangeburg. (File photo/Getty Images)
After two deadly shootings in four months, South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers is seeking to reassure students, parents and staff shaken by the tragic events and concerned about safety on campus.
“Our campus is grieving,” Conyers told about 500 people who tuned in to an online address Thursday evening. “These were not abstract events, they were deeply personal, and they have shaken our sense of safety and stability.”
“While we are undergoing some difficult challenges … we will learn from this,” Conyers added. “We will get stronger. We will remain resilient.”
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In response to the shootings that together killed three South Carolina teenagers, the public historically Black university in Orangeburg is again stepping up security with identification checks, license plate scans, random vehicle searches and visitor curfews, as well as more dorm room searches for drugs and guns, in an effort to prevent further bloodshed.
Investigators believe the most recent shooting, which happened around 9:15 p.m. Feb. 12 inside a dorm room of the Hugine Suites student housing complex, stemmed from a marijuana sale.
Two men — Henry Crittington, 19, of Orangeburg, and Terrell Thomas, 18, of Norway, a small town 17 miles from campus — were killed and a third was hospitalized for his injuries.
Law enforcement has since charged 18-year-old Khamanti Lytrel Kennedy, of Cordova, with murder in connection to the shooting.
Of all involved, only the injured teen was a student at SC State. Crittington and Thomas were on campus visiting a friend who attends the college.
Despite never being enrolled, Kennedy had previously gotten into trouble at the university. He faces an earlier charge, filed last October, for carrying a weapon on the campus.
As of Friday evening, Kennedy remained in the Orangeburg County jail. No lawyer was listed in court records.
The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division continues to investigate.
The incident marks the second fatal shooting at the Hugine Suites complex this school year. The dorm also has been the site of at least four other shootings in the past 6 ½ years. Three of those shootings involved injuries but no deaths, according to past media reports.
Aliyah Butler, 19, was at the dorm on campus for a visit during the school’s homecoming festivities on Oct. 4, 2025, when she was killed.
Following her death, the university opened a police substation inside the dorm. The station, which opened in November, has camera monitors and is patrolled by officers assigned there.
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But the school struggles with keeping its police department staffed and needs even more officers.
The college has a dozen full-time police officers. But it needs at least 16 — preferably 20, the college police chief, Richard Johnson, told legislators during a House education committee meeting in September. His officers often work seven consecutive days for shifts that can stretch 12 to 18 hours. The school relies on an outside security firm for nightly patrols, he said.
The school asked legislators to set aside about $1 million annually in the state budget to hire 12 more full-time police. But House budget writers declined to grant that request in its spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.
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In the first draft of the budget, House members did designate $8 million to build a new campus police station and fence in more of the campus so people must pass through the security gates when coming and going.
In January, Conyers told members the current building is more than a century old and is tucked away at the back of the campus. The school wants to build a new, more centrally located space.
It also wants to further upgrade its cameras and add sensors and video analytics to alert police to incidents or potential problems faster.
In the meantime, the school will do more to monitor not only vehicles but pedestrian access, adding more lighting, cameras and a gate requiring students to scan their student ID to get through a bridge connecting several student housing complexes to the main campus.
“Although we are a public university, the university will limit access to this institution — not restrict, but we will significantly reduce access,” Conyers said.
Large events will be ticketed, requiring attendees to carry clear bags and submit to security screenings.
The school will discipline any students whose visitors overstay a new, 9 p.m. curfew.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
