Virginia State University Parents Demand Security Answers After Campus Shooting, the Naacp Joins the Nolan Wells Family Legal Team, and Hayden Panettiere’s Autopsy Comes Back With Narcan Found on Scene

Parents and students at Virginia State University are demanding tighter security after five people were shot on campus early Saturday, just before the first day of classes. The NAACP has officially joined the legal team representing Nolan Xavier Wells' family. And actress Hayden Panettiere's autopsy has been completed, showing no visible injuries or trauma.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Virginia State University is facing growing questions about campus security
after five people were shot outside residence halls just two
days before the start of classes, and the NAACP is
now joining the Nolan Wells family's legal team, adding new
legal and investigative resources to the push for answers about
how the eighteen year old died and new details in

(00:27):
the sudden death of actress Hayden Pantier. Her autopsy is
complete and newly released nine to one to one audio
references a possible overdose. It's Tuesday, August eighteenth, from the
Black Effect podcast network. I Memi Brown. This is front
page and here are the day's biggest stories. Stay with me.

(00:52):
Virginia State University is facing growing questions about campus security
after five people were shot outside residence halls just two
days for the start of classes. The shooting happened around
one thirty Saturday morning on the campus of the HBCU
just outside Richmond, Virginia. One of the five people shot
is a VSU student. One person remains in critical condition.

(01:13):
Police have arrested a nineteen year old who is not
a student, but it's where they found him that's now
raising questions about security the campus went into lockdown after
the shooting. That lockdown was eventually lifted, but police say
the suspect was still on campus, hiding inside a dorm
room closet. He wasn't found until more than fourteen hours
after the shooting. Students are now questioning how that was possible.

(01:37):
Parents are also raising similar concerns. Some students and parents
say they've been able to enter campus without anyone checking
their ID, and Virginia State does not have security rules
after hours. Visitors are supposed to have security identification or
be accompanied by a student or staff member. Access to
residence halls are also supposed to be restricted, and now

(01:59):
families are calling for tighter security, more officers, and a
town hall with university leaders. The VSU president says student
safety remains one of the university's highest priorities. The school
has not announced any major security changes. Please also say
others fired weapons during the shooting and they're still working
to identify them. Classes are now underway at Virginia State

(02:22):
as students and parents push for answers about how this
happened and what the university plans to do next, and
the NAACP is now joining the legal team representing the
family of Nolan Xavier Wells, the eighteen year old whose
body was found on a Mississippi Barrier island two days

(02:43):
after disappearing during a fourth of July trip. The organization
announced Monday that its lawyers will work alongside civil rights
attorney Ben Crump as Nolan's family continues pushing for answers
about how he died. Leading the NAACP's legal effort is
Kristin Klar, who previously ran the Civil Rights Division at
the US Justice System. Clark says the organization will bring

(03:06):
additional legal and investigative resources to the case and push
for what she calls truth and transparency. Nolan disappeared July
fourth after traveling with friends to Horn Island off the
Mississippi Gulf Coast. His body was found two days later.
An independent autopsy requested by the family could not determine
his cause of manner or death. The official state autopsy

(03:29):
has been completed, but those findings have not been released publicly.
Authorities say the investigation remains active and no one has
been charged in connection with Nolan's death. The Congressional Black
Caucus has also asked the Justice Department and FBI for
an independent federal review. So now Nolan's family has another
major civil rights organization joining its push for answers as

(03:52):
questions remain about exactly what happened to the eighteen year
old on Horn Island, And finally, an autopsy has now
been complete on actress Hayden Pantier, but there are still
questions about what caused her sudden death. The thirty six
year old was found unresponsive Sunday afternoon at a home

(04:14):
in Greenville, South Carolina. First responders tried to revive her,
but she was pronounced dead a short time later. The
coroner says the autopsy found no visible injuries or trauma
that contributed to her death. Her official cause of death
and manner of death are still pending while investigators wait
for additional testing, including toxicology, but there is a new
detail from the scene. TMZ reports Narcan was found inside

(04:38):
the apartment, along with an applicator on the mattress. Narcan
is a medication used to reverse an overdose. Dispatch audio
from that afternoon also referred to the call as a
possible overdose, but at this point, authorities have not said
that Pantier died from an overdose or even that the
narcan found inside the home was used on her. Polise

(04:59):
say they have no sign a foul play or suspicious circumstances.
Pantier had publicly spoken in the past about struggles with
alcohol and substance abuse, but investigators have not connected that
history to her death so far. For now, exactly what
cause Hayden Pantier's death remains undetermined. Investigators are waiting on
those toxicology results before the coroner makes a final determination.

(05:24):
That's your front page. I Mimi Brown. This podcast was
brought to you by the Black Effect Podcast Network.