Drive-by Shooting at Texas Southern Injures 8 People

A drive-by shooting on the Texas Southern University campus Wednesday night injured eight people and cut short a rally being held to promote community service and voter registration, the Associated Press reports.

School spokeswoman Eva Pickens said spectators gathered at the event, which included a performance by Houston rapper Trae the Truth, dropped to the pavement when gunshots from a moving vehicle began streaming into the crowd. Campus police attribute the violence to a rivalry between two gangs, one from Missouri City and the other from Fresno, towns located between 30 and 40 minutes from the university's Houston campus.

Lucinda Guinn, who is managing Houston City Councilman Peter Brown's run for mayor in November's election, says she was dismayed that "an effort for bringing a very positive message to the community" would end in violence. Texas Southern is a historically black university with an enrollment of about 10,000.

This shooting follows other recent instances of gun violence that have left one college student dead and one alumnus critically injured. The Daily Lobo reported earlier this week that University of New Mexico student Kerry Lewis was shot and killed in his Albuquerque home on Friday, July 10. Police have made not yet made any arrests in connection with Lewis's death. The Daily Helmsman reported today that former University of Memphis men's basketball star Antonio Burks remained in critical condition after being shot during an armed robbery at a house in South Memphis.