Campus Alert Archive
PVAMU

Targeted at the Farm: Former PVAMU Employee Guns Down Colleague Who Had Feared for His Life

TXworkplace violenceemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On November 13, 2023, PVAMU employee Kendrick Wilder Sr. was shot and killed by former co-worker Devon Elliott Rhodes at the Governor Bill and Vara Daniels Farm and Ranch on the university campus. The campus was locked down and students were told to shelter in place after an active shooting email alert was sent at approximately 9:30 AM CST. Rhodes was arrested and charged with murder.

Alerts
2
Response
30 min
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
Prairie View A&M University
Hbcu · TX
~9,000 studentsPanther Alert System
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction194 chars
PVAMU ALERT: Active shooting reported on campus. All students and staff are advised to shelter in place immediately. Stay indoors and away from windows. Do not come to campus. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from news reports; students said they received an email about an 'active shooting' on campus shortly after 9:30 AM CST on November 13, 2023
The shooting at the campus farm had occurred shortly after 9:00 AM, with the alert going out approximately 30 minutes later
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction188 chars
PVAMU UPDATE: The shelter-in-place order has been lifted. A suspect is in custody. There is no ongoing threat. The University has canceled all in-person classes for the remainder of today.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from multiple news sources; the shelter-in-place lasted approximately three hours
In-person classes were canceled for the rest of the day, and counseling resources were made available
Context

Background

On the morning of November 13, 2023, Prairie View A&M University campus police responded to a shooting at the Governor Bill and Vara Daniels Farm and Ranch, an agricultural facility on the university campus. Officers found Kendrick Wilder Sr., a 31-year-old PVAMU employee and alumnus, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his back. Wilder was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect, Devon Elliott Rhodes, 31, a former employee who had previously worked with Wilder at the farm, was arrested and charged with murder. According to Wilder's wife, he had told PVAMU's human resources department that he feared for his life after a confrontation with Rhodes three months before the shooting. The campus was placed on lockdown with a shelter-in-place order that lasted approximately three hours. No students were injured, and the university canceled in-person classes for the remainder of the day. PVAMU President Ruth Simmons issued a message to the campus community following the incident.
Analysis

Key Findings

The victim had reported fearing for his life to university HR three months before the shooting, raising questions about workplace violence protocols
The shooting occurred at an agricultural facility on the edge of campus, away from student housing and academic buildings
The three-hour shelter-in-place order affected the entire campus despite the isolated nature of the workplace violence incident
Outcome
Devon Elliott Rhodes, 31, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. Kendrick 'Ken' Wilder Sr., a 31-year-old father of four and PVAMU alumnus, died from multiple gunshot wounds to the back. The shelter-in-place was lifted at approximately 12:15 PM CST. At the time of the shooting, Rhodes was reportedly out on a $100 bond from a Harris County case, and his wife told FOX 26 the two men had previously fought at work. Rhodes was held in the Waller County Jail; publicly available reporting did not document a trial verdict or sentencing as of the most recent available coverage.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Shooting on Prairie View A&M University campus; employee killed by former employee (Fox 7 Austin)
    fox7austin.com
  2. News
    Prairie View A&M shooting: Shelter-in-place order lifted, former university employee arrested (ABC13 Houston)
    abc13.com
  3. News
    Name of Prairie View A&M employee shot and killed by a former employee released (KHOU 11)
    khou.com
  4. News
    Prairie View A&M University employee dead after shooting at university farm (Houston Public Media)
    houstonpublicmedia.org
  5. Source
    Texas: Prairie View A&M Employee Killed in Campus Shooting (Campus Safety Magazine)
    campussafetymagazine.com
Tags
workplace-violencehbcutexasfatal-shootingemployee-on-employeecampus-farmprior-threat-report
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion