A parent of a Kentucky State University student has been charged with murder following an on-campus shooting that left one student dead and another critically injured.
Police said 48-year-old Jacob Lee Bard, from Evansville, Indiana, opened fire at a residence hall on the campus in Frankfort on Tuesday. Investigators described the shooting as isolated, but have not released details on the motive or circumstances.
The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis. A second student remains in critical condition, though police have not released their name. Bard was booked into jail on charges of murder and first-degree assault.
Bard is being represented by a public defender at the Franklin County Department of Public Advocacy, which declined to talk about his case Wednesday.
University police officers were near the scene of the altercation that ended with the shooting and immediately arrested Bard, police said.
Investigators have watched video taken by others at the scene and surveillance footage.
Asked by reporters about alleged videos showing a fight involving Bard’s sons preceded the shooting or whether Bard might have come to campus to talk to administrators about his sons' safety, Frankfort Assistant Police Chief Scott Tracy refused to say what may have led to the shooting.
“It’s really too early in the investigation right now to really give any details that led up to it. A lot of it would be speculation,” Tracy said Wednesday.
The shooting happened at Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall. It was the second shooting in four months near the student residence.
Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle on Aug. 17, striking two people that the university said weren’t students. Frankfort police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and a second sustained serious injuries. The dorm and at least one vehicle were damaged by gunfire.
University President Koffi C. Akakpo said the school brought in more police officers after the first shooting and will evaluate whether more needs to be done to keep students safe once the investigation into the latest shooting is complete,
“The campus is a safe place,” Akakpo said at the news conference.
Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.
The school sits about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) east of the Capitol building in Frankfort.
Shooting at Kentucky university leaves 1 dead and 1 injured
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