Shepherdstown, W.Va. — A tight-knit college town woke up Friday with grief on its streets after 19-year-old Shepherd University student Evan Taylor was found shot to death inside a University Heights apartment just after 3:30 a.m. Authorities say the suspected shooter, 25-year-old Travis Smith, has been charged with murder, leaving friends and classmates stunned and heartbroken.
Emergency crews were called to an apartment on Hensel Drive early Friday morning after a caller told dispatchers that someone inside had been shot multiple times and that a suspect had run off on foot. When deputies arrived, they located Taylor inside the residence and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities confirmed. The news spread quickly through the community, where students had been asleep or returning home when the violence erupted.
Witnesses in the area gave law enforcement a description of the man believed to have shot Taylor. Officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Shepherd University Police Department jumped into action, reviewing surveillance footage from around campus. One officer spotted a man matching the description walking across university property shortly after the shooting, and cameras tracked him into a parking lot where he got into a vehicle.
That man was later identified as Travis Smith. Officers located and detained Smith before he could leave the area, and during the stop they found a loaded Glock handgun on his person. Police said the firearm was seized as evidence and Smith was taken into custody before dawn. Officials say there is no ongoing threat to the campus, but the community has been left grappling with how a night that began like any other turned so tragic.
University leaders and law enforcement officials expressed deep sorrow over the loss of Evan Taylor, describing him as a young student with his whole life ahead of him. Messages shared with the campus community spoke of heartbreak and a shared sense of loss, and counseling resources have been offered to students and staff still reeling from the news. For many, the reality that violence touched their quiet corner of West Virginia was hard to grasp.
Officials say the investigation into the shooting remains active. Detectives continue to interview witnesses, process evidence from the scene, and try to piece together what led to the deadly encounter. Law enforcement has not publicly disclosed a motive or whether Taylor and Smith knew each other before Friday’s events.
Friends and classmates described Taylor as a familiar face around campus, someone who belonged to study groups and social circles that now feel his absence. In a place where students often cross paths daily in classrooms, cafes, and dorms, his death hangs heavily over the community. Conversations about campus safety and support have replaced weekend plans and Friday night chatter.
As Shepherdstown tries to make sense of the violence, the legal process is just beginning for Smith. He remains charged with murder in connection with Taylor’s death. For now, mourners remember Taylor not as a statistic, but as a young person whose life and promise were cut tragically short.
