Campus Alert Archive
TSU

An Argument Outside Student Housing Kills a Freshman and Locks Down an HBCU for Three Hours

TXshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On October 9, 2015, an argument outside the Courtyard Apartments student housing complex at Texas Southern University escalated into gunfire around 11:30 a.m. CDT. Freshman Brent Randall, 18, was killed and his brother Lawrence Flowers was wounded by two shots to the upper torso. Police later said the shooting was retaliation for a shooting after a basketball game the night before. The university went on lockdown for more than three hours and classes were cancelled for the day. Suspect Jartis Leon LeBlanc Jr., 22, was charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Alerts
3
Response
15 min
Killed
1
Injured
1
Institution
Texas Southern University
Hbcu · TX
~9,700 studentsTSU Emergency Notification (MIR3)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction184 chars
TSU ALERT: Shooting reported near Courtyard Apartments. Campus is on lockdown. Shelter in place immediately. Avoid the area. Two suspects last seen on foot heading south toward campus.

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

The alert included suspect direction of travel, which is notable for an HBCU alert in this era
Houston Police stated the shooting was reported about 11:30 a.m. and clarified it did not involve an active shooter situation
The lockdown affected the entire campus including nearby Jack Yates High School
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction294 chars
TSU CAMPUS UPDATE: The university remains on lockdown following a shooting near the Courtyard Apartments. Houston Police are actively investigating. All classes are cancelled for the remainder of the day. Students should remain indoors until further notice. Avoid the area near student housing.

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

Classes were cancelled for the entire day following the shooting
The lockdown lasted more than three hours before being partially lifted
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction186 chars
TSU ALERT UPDATE: The campus lockdown has been lifted. The area near Courtyard Apartments remains restricted. Houston Police have suspects in custody. Classes remain cancelled for today.

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

The lockdown was lifted campus-wide except for the immediate area around the Courtyard Apartments where the shooting took place
Two suspects had been taken into custody by Houston Police by this time
Context

Background

The Texas Southern University shooting of October 9, 2015, occurred during a period of heightened national attention to campus violence. It came just eight days after the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon that killed nine people and on the same day as the Northern Arizona University shooting in Flagstaff that killed one student. The TSU shooting differed from those incidents in that it stemmed from an interpersonal dispute that police later characterized as retaliation for a shooting that had occurred after a basketball game the night before, but the result was the same for Brent Randall's family. The second victim, Lawrence Flowers, was Randall's brother. TSU, a historically Black university in Houston's Third Ward, had experienced previous shooting incidents (including one in July 2009 already documented in this archive). The 2015 shooting prompted TSU to draft a new campus safety plan that included enhanced security at student housing, mandatory ID checks at apartment entrances, and an 11 p.m. curfew in all student housing. The incident occurred at the Tierwester Oaks section of the University Courtyard Apartments, which sat at the boundary between campus and the surrounding neighborhood, a common vulnerability at urban HBCUs where the line between campus and community is not always clearly defined. Jartis Leon LeBlanc Jr., 22, was arrested days later after a SWAT standoff and charged with murder.
Analysis

Key Findings

Three campus shootings occurred within a nine-day span nationally (Umpqua Oct 1, TSU Oct 9, NAU Oct 9), creating a sense of crisis
The shooting highlighted the vulnerability of student housing complexes at urban HBCUs where campus and community boundaries blur
TSU's post-incident security reforms (ID checks, curfew, additional guards) reflected a pattern of reactive policy changes after shootings
This was TSU's second shooting to appear in the archive, following a July 2009 incident
Outcome
Brent Randall, an 18-year-old freshman, was killed. His brother Lawrence Flowers was wounded by two gunshots to the upper torso and survived. Jartis Leon LeBlanc Jr., 22, was arrested after a SWAT standoff and charged with murder and aggravated assault-serious bodily injury; police identified the motive as retaliation for a shooting that had occurred after a basketball game the night before. TSU subsequently boosted security at off-campus apartments, implemented ID checks, and established an 11 p.m. curfew in all student housing.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    2 suspects arrested in fatal shooting at Texas Southern University - CNN
    cnn.com
  2. News
    Texas Southern University shooting: Police identify student victim as Brent Randall - ABC13 Houston
    abc13.com
  3. News
    In Wake of Fatal Shooting, Texas Southern University Drafts New Safety Plan - Houston Public Media
    houstonpublicmedia.org
  4. News
    Lockdown ends at Texas Southern University following nearby shooting - Fox 26 Houston
    fox26houston.com
  5. News
    Man, 22, charged in Texas Southern University shooting - CBS News
    cbsnews.com
  6. News
    Police: TSU shooting suspect in custody after SWAT standoff - Click2Houston
    click2houston.com
Tags
shootinghbcustudent-housinglockdownurban-campusinterpersonal-violencesecurity-reforms2015
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion