The Associated Press
A Montgomery man arrested following the mass shooting at Tuskegee University initially denied firing his weapon, but later told federal investigators he did fire his gun but did not shoot anyone, according to federal court records.
Jacquez Myrick, 25, was taken into custody on campus early Sunday. He is charged with being in possession of a handgun with a machine gun conversion device.
No one has been charged in the shooting death of 18-year-old La’Tavion Johnson or the wounding of 16 others.
Federal charging documents unsealed Tuesday detail Myrick’s arrest and his interview with ATF agents.
Prosecutors are asking that Myrick remain in custody, claiming he is a flight risk and poses a danger to the community.
The Tuskegee shooting happened in Sunday’s predawn hours at West Commons on-campus apartments. Some of it was caught on social media videos.
The shooting came as Tuskegee’s 100th Homecoming Week was winding down. Its football team that Saturday had played Fairfield-based HBCU Miles College.
Johnson, whose family said the 18-year- old died saving someone else, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Lt. Jeremy Burkett said of the 16 injured, 12 of those were shot. They were taken to hospitals in Montgomery and Lee County.
According to Burkett, four others sustained injuries during the ensuing chaos.
ATF Special Agent Andrew Erdmann in the criminal complaint said that Macon County 911 received a call at 12:58 a.m. Sunday reporting shots fired on the campus with possibly two people dead.
A Tuskegee police officer, among the first to respond, saw a large number of people at West Commons and said the gunfire was still ongoing.
He was unable to drive his patrol vehicle into the parking lot because of the crowd of people and vehicles, the complaint states.
“As Officer (Alan) Ashley moved through the parking lot, he observed a (Black) male laying on the ground and not moving,’’ Erdmann wrote.
“Officer Ashley said he found the male on the ground to be deceased from a possible gunshot wound.”
The officer then spotted another man in the parking lot, later identified as Myrick, who was armed with a Glock pistol. Myrick was detained and the pistol confiscated.
Erdmann said the Glock in Myrick’s possession was loaded with a 30-round magazine containing nine rounds of ammunition, as well as a round loaded into the chamber of the pistol.
The agent said the gun was equipped with a black “invisi-switch” type machine gun conversion device and functioned as a machine gun.
In an interview with agents, Myrick told investigators “he came to Tuskegee from Montgomery looking for a party,’’ Erdmann wrote.
Myrick said he and his friends were there for about five minutes when he began hearing gunfire. He said he went into the parking lot looking for one of his friends, at which point he was arrested by an officer.
Myrick said he bought the gun from a pawn shop in Tampa and denied being aware of any modifications made to the pistol. He said he had fired the gun Saturday, and that it “shot normal.”
He denied firing the gun during Sunday’s shooting on campus.
“Myrick was asked about his knowledge of MCDs, to which he said he has seen YouTube videos showing them being discharged, and ‘that bitch spittin,”’ Erdman said. “At this point in the interview Myrick was confronted with inconsistencies with his statement.”
Myrick then confessed that he bought the “switch” for his Glock pistol one to two years ago and installed it on the gun.
He said he bought the gun in the online chat forum Discord, and that it came with several machine gun conversion devices.
He said he discarded the two he did not use.
Erdmann said that because of his extensive training on machine gun conversion devices, he found Myrick’s statements unusual and said the device on Myrick’s gun appeared to be 3D printed.
“Myrick was asked again about discharging his firearm during the (Tuskegee) shooting,’’ Erdmann wrote.
“Myrick then confessed to discharging the Glock but denied shooting at anyone.”
The investigation is ongoing by ALEA, the Tuskegee University Police Department, the City of Tuskegee Police Department, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, ATF, FBI, the Fifth Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara S. Ratz for the Middle District of Alabama is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information is asked to submit tips at 1-800-CALL-FBI and upload any digital files regarding this incident online at: fbi.gov/tuskegeeshooting24.
