Jujuan Jeffers, a Black male, 20, from Wilmington, Delaware, was killed during a burst of gunfire that erupted amid Lincoln University’s Homecoming festivities on Saturday night, October 25, 2025. The shooting unfolded outside the university’s International Cultural Center after the football game, around 9:30 p.m., sending hundreds running as shots cracked across the parking lot.
Jeffers was struck in the head and died shortly after midnight; six other people between 20 and 25 years old were wounded and are expected to recover, according to officials. The campus paused classes for a day of healing as students and alumni described a scene that shifted in an instant from celebration to chaos.
Investigators have emphasized that the shooting did not appear to be a planned mass attack, and they believe more than one shooter may have been involved. Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, 21, of Wilmington, was detained immediately after the incident and charged with carrying a firearm without a license; authorities later said a cartridge casing from the scene was a ballistic match to the handgun recovered from him. His bail was raised to $1 million as the investigation continues, and officials have not yet said whether rounds from that gun struck any victims. Detectives from Chester County, with assistance from state police and the FBI, are piecing together videos and eyewitness accounts and have asked anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI. No murder charges had been announced as of the latest updates.
What began as a joyful homecoming gathering at one of the nation’s oldest historically Black universities ended with candles and flowers on campus steps, as Lincoln’s community grieved a young man whose name would become the touchstone of the night. Officials described a frantic scramble as people fled in every direction, the kind of sudden violence that leaves ringing echoes—sirens, shouted names, the thud of feet—long after the gunfire stops. In the days that followed, counseling services were expanded and a call for reflection went out across the university, even as detectives searched for answers and any additional suspects who may have fired into the crowd.
