74-year-old charged with shooting at man on Shaw University campus, police say

A man fired shots Tuesday on Shaw University's campus in downtown Raleigh, according to police. Students told WRAL News they heard multiple gunshots.

Around 1:30 p.m., authorities took 74-year-old Kamal Rasool Abdal-Rafi into custody on campus near the Shaw University International Studies Center at 130 Martin Luther King Blvd. A staff member told WRAL News the first floor of that building is used for classes, and the second floor contains the King Khalid mosque.

A preliminary investigation suggests Abdal-Rafi got into an argument with a man in front of the building and then shot at the man multiple times.

According to the Wake County ABC Law Enforcement, an officer was in the area on an unrelated alcohol call and heard the gunshots. A bystander directed him to the international studies center where he chased Abdal-Rafi and held him until Raleigh police arrived to take him into custody.

Raleigh police said Abdal-Rafi had at least three firearms in his possession and two in his car, but no one was injured.

A member of the community told WRAL News Abdal-Rafi entered the international studies building after the shots were fired.

Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., as Drone 5 flew over the scene, a large number of police officers and several police cruisers were outside the building.

One student told WRAL News crew that he heard four gunshots while walking to campus. Other students said police officers were also searching nearby residence halls.

"We got an email saying that we were on lockdown," said Makayla Whitfield, a student. "Where my class was at, we could see out the window, and we saw a bunch of police officers. There were helicopters flying around."

"I just heard four gunshots," said Lary Calhoun. "That's all I heard. I was a little confused. I asked the people around me, 'Were those gunshots?'"

A few minutes later, Calhoun said students received an active shooter alert on their phones.

"To be honest, in my head, I was still thinking that it didn't happen on campus and that somebody was just around the campus or something," Calhoun said.

Calhoun said he didn't notice any difference in the environment around him, but he heard one of his friends who was located closer to where the shots were fired was locked in a classroom for more than 30 minutes.

"I was just hoping everybody was okay ... I wasn't panicking. I tried to stay calm," he said.

Shaw University canceled classes for the rest of the day on Tuesday. Authorities charged Abdal-Rafi with multiple felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, four counts of discharging a firearm on educational property and five counts of possession of a firearm on educational property.

Abdal-Rafi faced various charges previously in 2019 for communicating threats and carrying a concealed weapon. He pleaded guilty to communicating threats and the other charges were dismissed.

According to the North Carolina eCourts system, Abdal-Rafi's bond was set at $250,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

Classes at Shaw University will resume as normal on Wednesday.