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Mechanicsville man shot at Longwood University construction site

Posted at 10:56 PM, Apr 06, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-08 01:30:20-04

FARMVILLE, Va. (WTVR) -- A 52-year-old man has been arrested for a shooting at Longwood University Saturday night that killed a man from Mechanicsville.

Police received a call around 7:45 p.m. of a report that a man was killed in a fenced-off construction area at Lancer Park, an apartment complex near the Longwood University campus.

Virginia State Police said Sunday afternoon that Darryl N. Elmore, of Hurt, Va., has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, reckless handling of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held without bond at the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville.

"We are very confident that there are no more suspects in this case," said Longwood Univiersty Chief of Police Robert Beach.

State police said Longwood police received a 911 call around 7:45 p.m. Saturday about a shooting in a trailer in a fenced off construction area at Lancer Park. That's a student apartment complex located near the main Longwood campus.

When Longwood police officers arrived, they found 46-year-old John J. Robles' body.

The investigation by Virginia State Police with the assistance of Longwood Police, revealed that Robles had been shot and killed. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

Police said Robles’ body was taken to the Office of the Medical Examiner for an autopsy and that Elmore was taken into custody without incident.

The shooting remains under investigation.

Some students at Longwood are concerned about when they officially got word of the shooting.  An email from Longwood University Public Relations Department was sent to the student body at 10:15 p.m.  The shooting was initially reported at 7:45 p.m.

"There's a lot of rumors that go around.  This happened over here; this happened over there.  No one takes it seriously, but  when you get it [the email] two and a half hours later, it ruffles some feathers," said Brandon Kelly, a junior at Longwood.

The university maintained it followed policy in not sending out an urgent alert.  Chief Beach said because Elmore was detained shortly after officers arrived on scene, no one was in danger.

"I want everyone to understand that when that system goes off, there is an imminent danger, and people need to react right away," said Chief Beach.  "We did not have that last night."

Longwood University policy states only authorized personnel are allowed to carry weapons inside campus buildings.  However, Chief Beach said a person with a permit can carry on campus, as long as that person does not enter any buildings.  Longwood is a public university.

However, police said since Elmore is a convicted felon, he was not legally allowed to possess a firearm.

Stay with CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for updates on this story.