The Virginian-Pilot
©
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.
Campus police pledged to beef up security at Elizabeth City State University after an officer shot a former student who police say was carrying an assault rifle on campus.
Officers said they spotted 24-year-old Rashaad Gardner with the firearm around 2:30 a.m. Saturday near the University Towers residence hall. When police ordered him to drop the weapon, he refused and pointed the gun at officers, campus police Chief Samuel Beamon said during a news conference.
An officer shot the suspect once in the leg before he retreated into a wooded area, Beamon said.
Gardner, a 2010 graduate of the university, was found by police about an hour later, nearly unconscious and leaning against a tree stump. He received medical attention at a hospital and was taken to the Albemarle District Jail, where he was being held on a $50,000 bond.
He's charged with assault by pointing a gun, possession of a weapon on state educational property, and going armed to the terror of the people, Beamon said.
Officials declined to detail the events leading up to the shooting, but witnesses said there had been an altercation between Gardner and other students earlier in the night.
Sophomore Matthew Ferebee, 22, said he saw the drama unfold from the balcony of a student townhome. Not long after, he heard shouting and arguing outside. Campus police arrived, blocked off the area and told students to go inside, he said. Then an officer drew his firearm and disappeared around the side of a building, he said.
"I heard him yell, 'Put it down, put it down! Get on the ground, get on the ground!' Then, pow, pow, pow, pow."
Ferebee said he remembered several shots, none from the assault rifle, before he took cover inside.
Hours later, students walked past the area, which was roped off with yellow crime scene tape.
The small campus is surrounded by residential neighborhoods and home to about 3,100 students. Word of the incident spread quickly, although some students knew only basic details Saturday afternoon.
"It's crazy to think someone had a gun like that on campus. It freaks me out," said Jereka Bandy, an 18-year-old freshman who lives in University Towers.
Other students said they were impressed by how quickly campus police responded.
"It could have been a lot worse," said Marsha Jones, a sophomore who lives in a student townhome nearby.
Chief Beamon said he believes it was an isolated incident. As a precaution, he ordered additional overnight patrols, and university officials canceled all evening activities.
"We're not taking any chances," he said.
The officers involved were placed on paid leave pending an investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Pilot staffer David Putney contributed to this report.
Mike Hixenbaugh, (757) 222-5117, mike.hixenbaugh@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
"pow, pow, pow, pow."
I know it is harder when you are under stress, but once in the leg? Please spend more time on the range and squeeze it, don’t jerk it.
gun control
is hitting what you're aiming at.. ;-)
Kudos to the Cops!
Good job, ECSUPD! I hope the officer(s)are doing well(physically & emotionally).You guys probably saved a lot of lives. Job well done!
what was its
Culture and religion if it matters, and how did he attend the 'school' with that kind of attitude?? Past history,etc.. would make it 'news-worthy',maybe...
I'm betting he is not Tea Party ...
... or that would have come through loud and clear.
OK, so since there is a law,
OK, so since there is a law, then no signs are needed. The "gun free zone" just is what it is. However, perhaps when they put the code in the books they could have used a bigger font size, or wrote the law in ALL CAPS so every would be criminal would know that they are SUPER SERIOUS, this time...
On a side note, I'm glad to see the officers involved were not hurt, and acted accordingly.
Gunman shot on ODU campus
Often wonder if these are truely professional "gunmen" or if the media just likes sensational headlines....
Perhaps they meant "a man with a gun"...
Supreme Court?
We have a Supreme Court packed with people who hold extremist views. In times past the Supreme Court has ruled that slavery is constitutional and that Africans were to be treated as chattel, under the ownership of their white slave masters.
Chief Justice Taney was wrong then, just as Justice Roberts, Alioto, Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy are wrong on the Second Amendment.
Justice Thomas should be impeached on the grounds of perjury, sexual harassment, influence peddling and bribery. No doubt a new judge would take a more literal interpretation of the Second Amendment and not the distorted and expanded view currently held.
The Supreme Court Is Packed with Justices
with far more education and experience deciding constitutional matters than you. Under the Constitution as it was written at the time, which is to say prior to the ratification of the 13th Amendment, slavery was constitutional. It's an ugly stain on the country, no doubt, but there's nothing the Supreme Court could do about it. Under the principle of judicial review, the Court decides constitutionality of laws passed by the judiciary; it cannot change the Constitution itself. I'd have thought someone pontificating so authoritatively (albeit incorrectly) about the Supreme Court and the Constitution would know this basic principle.
Never heard of stare
Never heard of stare decisis?
What do you think the Supreme Court does when it says Example A is free speech & Example B is not? How they interpret the law, including the Constitution, becomes law. They have changed what it means to exercise free speech, keep & bear arms, free press, searches & seizures, etc, etc.