No one injured after U of L student accidentally fires gunshot through apartment ceiling

No one was hurt after University of Louisville officials say a student accidentally fired a gun Saturday inside of an apartment complex.

A letter sent out to students, faculty and staff Tuesday said the student shot through a ceiling inside of the Cardinal Towne apartments, 325 W. Cardinal Blvd.

The bullet went through the ceiling in the student's apartment and into the closet of another apartment in the building, U of L Executive Vice President and Provost Beth Boehm wrote in the letter.

The student who fired the gun "has been removed from campus housing and is facing disciplinary action as defined by the code of student conduct," Boehm wrote.

"Our housing office reached out to the affected students, offering them the opportunity to move to other housing, and the Dean of Students' office and ULPD have engaged with the students to provide additional support," Boehm wrote.

When your room gets shot through the floor by the guy living below you, and the University of Louisville just takes his gun and lets him stay in the complex. #gocards pic.twitter.com/JLrmlQJHbJ — Maranda (@maranda_alexis) November 24, 2019

Dean of Students Michael Mardis said Tuesday afternoon that the shot was fired as a result of an "accidental discharge."

"Police talked to him and determined that there wasn’t an immediate ongoing threat and removed the weapon from the location," Mardis said.

There were no criminal charges filed against the student for the incident, Mardis said.

Some members of the community asked why a university emergency alert was not used in this situation. According to Mardis, those alerts are only issued when there is "an imminent threat" — which he said was not the case for this instance.

The University of Louisville has had a policy since 1996 that does not allow most people to carry weapons on "property owned, leased, operated or controlled by the University." Though Cardinal Towne apartments are owned by a third party, it is part of the students' lease agreements that they cannot have weapons in the building, Mardis said.

With possessing a weapon being a violation of the code of student conduct, consequences could be "up to and including expulsion," according to Mardis.

“There’s a process that includes a hearing," he said. "We have to allow for due process from all sides to be heard.”

In her letter, Boehm pointed to the university's values, or CARDINAL Principles. She said that this situation highlights the importance of fostering a community of care, which is one of those principles.

"We are all thankful that no one was hurt in this incident, which clearly was a violation of our policy, endangered the safety of some of our UofL family, and will be dealt with appropriately," Boehm wrote. "I hope you will join us in ensuring our campus is safe as possible by following our policies. And if you see something that concerns you, say something.

Boehm reminded U of L community members that the university's police department is always available at 502-852-6111 or, in an emergency, via 911.

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