A man who fired a gun Sunday evening during an argument with his ex-girlfriend near Abilene Christian University prompted emergency alerts from the school.

Abilene police later arrested the 31-year-old man at Abilene Regional Medical Center after he was treated and released for accidentally shooting himself in the arm, according to Abilene and ACU police.

The Buffalo Gap man was charged with deadly conduct.

According to Taylor County Jail records, he was released from jail Monday on a $3,000 bond.

The man is not a current ACU student, said ACU Police Chief Jimmy Ellison.

Initial call

At about 9:02 p.m., police responded to a report of a discharge of a firearm in the 500 block of East North 18th Street. A woman told police that during an argument in a vehicle with her ex-boyfriend, he brandished a gun and threatened to kill her, her friends and himself, police reported.

The man fired the gun and fled the scene, Abilene police said.

Because the incident occurred two blocks west of campus, Ellison issued five campus emergency alerts. The alerts were kept short because they were sent via a phone text messaging system, he said.

"Last night, I erred on the side of caution, and would rather explain why we chose to inform versus having to explain why we chose not to inform," Ellison said. "Federal law, and quite frankly, common sense, require us to inform our communities of risks. Our students deserve it, their parents demand it."

The first alert stated: ""ACU ALERT-Possible Shooting NEAR campus. Police working possible shooting-500 blk of EN18th. Heavy police presence but NO THREAT or connection to campus."

Addressing rumors

A second alert said there was no known threat, but to avoid the area west of the campus while police conducted an investigation. A third alert stated that a man who reportedly ran from police was not related to the shooting incident.

Additional alerts referred to an email that went out explaining why the alerts were sent, Ellison said.

As Abilene police initially responded to the call and set up a search perimeter, "many students out this evening walking and driving in that area west of campus began to see this activity and began to communicate to friends and family that there was a 'shooter loose in the area' or that there had 'been a shooting on campus,'" the email stated.

Quashing rumors is just as important as sending out information related to safety, Ellison said.

"Rumor and misinformation were spreading quickly to students on and off-campus, and subsequently to parents," Ellison said. "I felt like issuing the alerts would inform as well as clarify what was, and more importantly, what was not occurring."

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