Stacy Gault, The Duquesne Duke Duquesne University sophomore Brendan Small, of Columbia, Md., joins fellow students last night at a campus prayer vigil for those affected by Sunday's shootings. Click photo for larger image. More coverage Ashaolu's brothers wait, hope Colleges disagree on use of metal detectors at campus events Duquesne coach relives nightmarish days Dukes junior proud of way teammates are pulling together Columnist Bob Smizik: Duquesne facing long recovery

A Duquesne University sophomore who describes herself as "half lady, half thug" and a high-school classmate have been charged in the shootings of five Dukes basketball players.

As more than 800 students, faculty and staff gathered on the campus last night for a prayer vigil, police were seeking a second suspect, described as armed and dangerous.

The shooting that occurred on-campus shooting early Sunday left basketball player Sam Ashaolu, 23, in critical condition and teammates Stuard Baldonado, 21, Kojo Mensah, 21, Aaron Jackson, 20, and Shawn James, 23, wounded.

Police charged 19-year-old Brittany Jones of Penn Hills with reckless endangerment, carrying a firearm without a license and conspiracy for helping Brandon Baynes, 19, and William Holmes, 18, smuggle the guns into the Duquesne Union that later were used in the shootings. The three attended Penn Hills High School at one time or another, school officials confirmed.

Mr. Baynes was arraigned last night on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and illegally carrying a firearm. He was being held on $250,000 bond. A warrant was issued charging Mr. Holmes with the same crimes.

Police said a second woman with Ms. Jones' group was flirting with the basketball players after they all left the dance about 2:15 a.m. Sunday, sparking a confrontation on the university's Academic Walk that led to the shootings. Officers did not name that woman or say whether she is being questioned in the case.

Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki described Mr. Holmes as "extremely dangerous and currently armed," and asked anyone with information about him to call detectives at 412-323-7161.

William Holmes
Brandon Baynes
Brittany Jones

Police said two other men, brothers Kenneth Eason Jr., 23, and Jeremiah Eason, 21, also of Penn Hills, were with the three suspects at the dance. The Easons were questioned but not charged.

Police said Ms. Jones led a double life -- "a good student by day and a thug at night." On a profile posted on the Web site MySpace.com, Ms. Jones herself wrote, "I'm the definition of half lady, half thug."

Ms. Jones is a member of the university's Black Student Union, which sponsored the weekend back-to-school dance in the Duquesne Union ballroom. She graduated from Penn Hills High School in 2005 and enrolled at Xavier University of New Orleans, but left after just a few days when the school was flooded by Hurricane Katrina. She transferred to Duquesne, where she is a sophomore this year.

Here is what police have learned about the suspects and the shooting incident, according to affidavits filed in the case:

Ms. Jones lived in Penn Hills with her parents and commuted to Duquesne. She is believed to have hung out with Penn Hills friends when she was off campus.

Saturday night, she got a call from Kenneth "KJ" Eason, who asked whether he could join her at the dance. She said he could.

In all, about 200 people from area colleges, along with non-student guests, attended the dance.

Mr. Eason arrived on campus with his brother, Mr. Baynes, Mr. Holmes and at least two other people, some of whom were carrying concealed handguns.

As they walked toward the student union, Kenneth Eason asked Ms. Jones whether they would be frisked at the door. She went ahead of the group and asked the doorman whether those attending were being checked for weapons, and was told they would not be.

Two armed Duquesne University police provided security in the ballroom, and neither those officers nor people at the dance reported any altercations inside. Four other armed police officers and two unarmed security guards patrolled elsewhere on campus.

Shortly after the dance ended at 2 a.m., the basketball players began talking to a woman, believed to be a Duquesne student, on Academic Walk near Vickroy Hall and Duquesne Towers. That woman was with Ms. Jones' group.

The fact that their companion was paying attention to other men apparently didn't sit well with Mr. Baynes and Mr. Holmes, and they began taunting the basketball players.

University officials have said the basketball players turned and walked away to avoid a confrontation. The other group turned and walked in the opposite direction, but two of those men whipped around and began firing at the athletes.

The affidavit said Ms. Jones ran toward her friends when she heard the taunting, but it does not explain where she was when the trouble started. She said members of her group began firing, then she saw several men lying on the ground.

A witness picked Mr. Holmes and Mr. Baynes out of photo arrays and identified them as the two shooters, known to the witness as "Bill" and "B," according to the affidavit in Mr. Baynes' case.

Mr. Ashaolu, who transferred to Duquesne this year from Lake Region State College in North Dakota, was shot in the head and remained in critical condition last night at Mercy Hospital.

Mr. Baldonado, a transfer from Miami Dade College, was in serious condition at Mercy with bullet wounds to an arm and his lower back. Mr. Mensah, a transfer from Siena College, was released from UPMC Presbyterian yesterday. He was shot in the arm and shoulder.

Treated and released were Mr. Jackson, a guard who is one of only two returning players from Duquesne's 3-24 team of last season, and Mr. James, who transferred from Northeastern University.

At last night's prayer vigil, school President Charles J. Dougherty urged the Duquesne community to come together in the aftermath of what he called "a vicious and cowardly attack that could easily have been more tragic."

"There may be more difficult days ahead for us, more heartaches to bear," Mr. Dougherty said. "Let us bear this day's burdens and those that may come in solidarity with one another. We have been wounded. Let us resolve that we will not inflict more wounds on each other, but instead make Duquesne University an even better place because of the way we stand together though this suffering."

Yesterday morning, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and Pittsburgh Police Chief Dominic J. Costa went to the campus to look at the shooting scene.

Investigators found shell casings from two different weapons, some more than a block from where the victims fell, Mr. Zappala said. The casings matched slugs removed from the victims, he said.

Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare said the school was investigating whether Ms. Jones' actions violated the school's student code and would take action when a determination was made.

Ms. Jones' profile on her MySpace.com Web page includes a question-and-answer section that is laced with profanity, derogatory names and some references to sex and drug use.

The slender, 5-foot-6-inch student lives in a quiet Penn Hills neighborhood off Frankstown Road where the homes are tidy, the streets are clean and the lawns are manicured. Her mother, Veronica I. Jones, listed as the person who bailed Ms. Jones out of jail yesterday morning, runs a drug and alcohol counseling program and is working toward a doctorate in education at Duquesne.

Ms. Jones' father, Edwin, works for a printing company, said the family's attorney, James M. Ecker. Ms. Jones has two sisters, one who works in radiology and lives out of state. The other is social worker, according to Mr. Ecker.

Ms. Jones has never been in trouble in her life and was "shaking and crying and very, very emotionally upset" after spending the night at Allegheny County Jail, said Mr. Ecker.

Mr. Ecker said she was taken into custody at Pittsburgh Police headquarters shortly before 5 p.m. Monday and transported to the jail at about 11.

A man who answered the door yesterday evening said the family had no comment.

Mr. Baynes lives on Upland Terrace in Penn Hills. A man at the home who identified himself as Mr. Baynes' brother said his mother, April, was too upset to speak and asked a reporter to leave the property yesterday evening.