Source: Courtesy of / WGN9
Jaylen Burns, 21, was a student who tragically lost his life after an on-campus shooting at Jackson State University (JSU) Oct. 15, amid the institution’s homecoming weekend.
According to the information shared Oct. 16 by the Jackson, Mississippi, school’s Acting President, Dr. Elayne H. Anthony, the shooting occurred on-campus at the University Pointe Apartment Complex. Jaylen was taken to the hospital but heartbreakingly succumbed to his injuries.
The Jackson Police Department and Capitol Police are spearheading the investigation into the shooting and the student’s death. The shooter[s] remain on the loose, and JSU or the authorities haven’t provided further details.
WAPT reported that Jaylen attempted to drive himself to the hospital after the shooting happened around 10 p.m. Jackson Police Chief Joesph Wade shared that the authorities found the injured student at Lynch Street and Alta Vista. Wade disclosed that the college senior “had been shot multiple times.”
The young Chicago-area native was a senior studying industrial technology and majoring in engineering. He would have turned 22 in November.
Jaylen was a leader for many of those around him. Jackson State University noted that he was “a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and president of the C100 Chapter” on campus. He was also associated with the 100 Black Men of America nonprofit and was described as “an ambitious and bright man.”
Before starting his senior year this fall, he’d successfully completed a summer internship, according to WGN9.
The latter source also highlighted that Jaylen dreamed of completing his undergraduate degree and pursuing further education by getting his master’s. The 21-year-old senior’s mother, La’Trice Wright, explained to the Chicago news outlet that she and Jaylen’s other loved ones had traveled to JSU this past weekend to celebrate the student and his accomplishments during the homecoming festivities.
The heartbroken matriarch noted that her son had been “on the Dean’s List for the past three years” and was “doing great things.”
La’Trice and other family members reportedly said their goodbyes to the JSU senior hours before they learned he’d been shot.
“I was on my way back to Chicago, and I got a phone call while I was at the airport that my son had been shot. And so I had to turn around and come back,” shared the grieving mother.
“To whoever took my son, they didn’t just take him from me. They took him from the world,” she added.
Jaylen’s father, Jason Burns, explained that his son was never involved in foolishness, gangs or trouble. When he was shot, the young scholar attempted to diffuse a physical altercation with his frat brother and another student. The other student had broken up with a girlfriend and had gone to her apartment to collect his belongings when a fight broke out with another group of folks in her place.
“He wasn’t a violent kid. He didn’t know anything about guns or fighting or gangs, you know, anything about that,” Jason said. “He just- I don’t know. I never felt like this before in my life.”
Ultimately, the senior’s good deed cost him his life.
The official Instagram page for Alpha Phi Alpha honored its fallen brother, who initiated Spring 2023.
“Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. mourns and condemns the tragic shooting death of Brother Jaylen Burns at Jackson State University last night. Brother Burns, a Spring 2023 Delta Phi Chapter initiate, was an industrial technology major from Chicago and a campus leader. Please share and keep his family, friends, and chapter Brothers in your prayers.”
JSU suspended classes on Oct. 16 following the weekend’s tragedy.
All those who are a part of the university’s local community are asked to keep their JSU identification on them due to an abundance of caution and increased on-campus security.
Jackson State University has Mississippi’s fourth-highest student enrollment and is one of the country’s biggest HBCUs.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jaylen’s family, friends and all those who knew him,” said the beginning of Acting President Anthony’s statement. “We grieve the tragic loss of his life due to this senseless act of violence,” she added.
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