Patrick Henry High School student killed in Blacksburg shooting, four injured; suspect taken into custody

In a statement issued Saturday night, Blacksburg police identified the person killed in the shooting as Isiah O. Robinson, 18. They said that six warrants have been issued for Jamel D. Flint, 24: for first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of using a gun to commit a felony.

After 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, the Blacksburg police issued a statement saying Flint “has been taken into custody in Roanoke Virginia without incident.” 

Earlier in the evening, police said Flint was considered to be armed and dangerous. The Blacksburg police statement offered no explanation as to why the department waited almost 20 hours to disclose that an armed and dangerous suspect was at large.

Robinson, a linebacker and running back, was mourned in a Saturday night post on the Patrick Henry football team Twitter account. It included a picture of Robinson in his Patriots uniform with No. 3 on his chest. “Isiah will be missed and our hearts and prayers go out to his family, football family and friends,” the tweet said.

Roanoke schools issued a statement expressing sorrow and said counselors will be available Monday for students and staff at Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools. At the Adam Ward Basketball Classic in Roanoke County, officials held a moment of silence for a member of Patrick Henry High School’s football team who they said had died Friday.

The mass shooting near Virginia Tech drew widespread attention, with stories appearing in national news outlets.

Authorities did not release the name of those who were wounded but Tech President Tim Sands issued a statement saying that one of the people who was hurt was a student at the university.

According to two Blacksburg police news releases issued early Saturday, officers received a report at 11:53 p.m. Friday of shots fired in the Melody Hookah Lounge, located at 109 North Main St., a few blocks from Tech’s campus. The statements gave few details of the incident but said the wounded were taken to local hospitals.

The website for the Melody Hookah Lounge said that the business had been closed for a private event from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. Friday, reopening to the public after that.

Immediately after the shooting, Tech sent out a message through its alert system urging recipients to secure in place and remain inside. That warning was lifted at 3:18 a.m.

By then, few people were visible along a cold and windy Main Street except for investigators placing evidence markers and taking photographs along the sidewalk near the hookah lounge. Keeping watch was a team of heavily armed officers, and other officers with dogs. A section of Main Street near Roanoke Street remained closed for more than five hours.

On Saturday, no one answered the phone at Melody Hookah Lounge. The business released a brief statement on its Facebook page saying, “We are deeply hurt and devastated of what happened Friday night, our condolences go to the families and friends of everyone who were affected. Moving forward we will add more precautions and regulations in place for this types of situations.”

Downtown Blacksburg Inc. also posted a statement to Facebook: “Late last night, a shooting occurred at a business in the heart of our Downtown. While the events of last night are still coming to light, there is no doubt our Downtown community has experienced a tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families during this difficult time.” The statement on Saturday added that some downtown businesses elected to close for the day, but that there was no official recommendation from law enforcement or the town.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., posted a statement on his Twitter page about the event: “Incredibly saddened to see another act of gun violence in the Commonwealth this week. My heart is with the people of Blacksburg and the entire Virginia Tech community.”

Tech President Sands called events like the shooting “difficult and unsettling to all of us” and expressed condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, and support to the wounded.

Frank Shushok Jr., vice president for student affairs at the university, issued an update on the student Saturday afternoon, saying he was out of surgery and seemed to be recovering. “We are grateful for the outpouring of care and support directed to him,” Shushok said.

Eugene “Blue” Cook, Patrick Henry High School’s girls basketball coach, on Saturday called Robinson “a good spirit” and “just full of life.” He said that over the past few years he had got to know Robinson, who was a classmate of Cook’s children.

Cook said that he regularly sends encouraging texts to members of the Patriots’ football squad before games, but that he and Robinson kept up the text conversation after the season ended. It was just on Wednesday, Cook said, that Robinson texted to say that he had been accepted at a junior college.

Cook said he congratulated Robinson and told him “Get out of Roanoke!”

Cook said that he did not know any details of what happened in Blacksburg, but was sure the effects would be felt widely.

Patrick Henry’s student body still is recovering from several student deaths in recent years, including that of 18-year-old football and basketball team member Kawuan Ray, who collapsed after a basketball practice in 2020, Cook said.

Ray died of natural causes. But with Robinson lost to a shooting, “this is different,” Cook said.

Blacksburg Police asked anyone with information to contact them at (540) 443-1400, or to call an anonymous tip line at (540) 961-1819 or email ciu@blacksburg.gov.

Staff writer Robert Anderson contributed to this report.