Howard University cancels graduation mid-ceremony after furious family members bang on doors and smash windows

Howard University was forced to cancel a graduation ceremony after furious relatives began banging on doors and smashing windows after the auditorium hit capacity.

The graduation ceremony for the historically black college's College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences was shut down before the keynote address after space ran out at the Cramton Auditorium in Washington DC.

Relatives of some of the graduates were seen on video chanting 'Let us in' as they pounded on the doors as the ceremony began on Thursday.

Images showed a shattered glass door as the angry relatives tried to push their way past security.

At least one person was hurt in the commotion, according to DC officials. Various reports said the injured person was a student who was treated for a cut.

Howard University was forced to cancel a graduation ceremony after furious relatives began banging on doors and smashing windows after the auditorium hit capacity

Images showed a shattered glass door as the relatives tried to push their way past security

Dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences Gina Brown made announcement claiming the fire department had shut the ceremony down.

'Because of the size of the room and because our relatives sometimes do not know how to act, the fire department is now here to shut us down,' she said.

However, the DC fire department has denied they shut down the graduation.

The department said: 'D.C. Fire and EMS did not shut down tonight’s event... At 6:42 p.m., we responded to the Cramton Auditorium for a medical local at the request of campus police. 

'The patient was evaluated and refused transport, and D.C. Fire and EMS departed.'

Howard later said in their own statement that someone was removed from the building before the ceremony and they came back and broke a window.

The school's statement read: 'This incident led to a disturbance among guests outside of the facility, resulting in a disruption of the program.

'Guests in attendance were immediately dispersed following this incident.'

Graduate Halle Ragoonanan told NBC Washington she was heartbroken to not be able to walk to receive her diploma in front of her family, specially because she graduation high school in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Howard later said in their own statement that someone was removed from the building before the ceremony and they came back and broke a window

Dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences Gina Brown made announcement claiming the fire department had shut the ceremony down

However, the DC fire department has denied they shut down the graduation

Some students expressed heartbreak about not being able to walk at their graduation

She said: 'I didn’t get to walk. I graduated magna cum laude and I didn’t even get to walk. 

'I’m the class of 2020. I didn’t get to walk for my high school graduation and I didn’t get to walk for my college graduation.'

It comes as other graduation ceremonies have been disturbed over the war in Gaza.

Dozens of students stormed out of Duke University's commencement ceremony in protest over guest speaker Jerry Seinfeld who has supported Israel since the October 7 atrocity by Hamas and throughout the war in Gaza.

The comedian, 70, was met with a a mix of cheers and boos as he was introduced before students carrying flags and chanting 'free, free Palestine' marched out of the Wallace Wade Stadium on Sunday.