Frostburg student from Waldorf slain after off-campus party

A Frostburg State University student from Southern Maryland was shot and killed and a student from the District was seriously wounded during a confrontation with another student Sunday morning near the campus in western Maryland, police said.

The dispute apparently began at an off-campus party late Saturday after a Frostburg student, identified as Tyrone B. Hall, 21, of Glen Burnie, allegedly assaulted a woman at the party, police said. An ensuing fight broke up when other partygoers intervened. The location of the party was unclear.

Officials with the Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigation Unit said that several people at the party later went to Hall's home on East College Avenue, across the street from the college campus.

"There was another confrontation, and then the suspect produced a 12-gauge shotgun," police said Sunday. "The suspect fired two rounds, striking both of the victims in the abdominal area. The suspect then fled back into his residence and remained there until law enforcement arrived and he was detained."

Police said they arrived at the scene shortly after 4 a.m. and found two victims with gunshot wounds. Brandon M. Carroll, 20, of Waldorf was pronounced dead at Western Maryland Regional Medical Center. Ellis E. Hartridge Jr. of the District had surgery and was expected to survive. His family members told school officials that he was in stable condition.

Pfc. Daniel Dunn of the Frostburg Police Department said Sunday that there was no indication that any of the students who went to confront Hall were armed. Investigators found the shotgun thought to have been used and ammunition in Hall's residence.

Hall was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and two counts of assault. He was being held without bond at the Allegany jail.

The shootings stunned the Frostburg State community, with 5,385 undergraduate and graduate students. The rural campus is off Interstate 68 near Cumberland, about a 2 1/2 -hour drive northwest of Washington.

"The thoughts and prayers of the entire University community are with the family and friends of both students," school officials said Sunday on the school's Web site.