Idaho professor accidentally shoots
himself in the foot in chemistry class
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[September 06, 2014]
By Laura Zuckerman
SALMON Idaho (Reuters) - An Idaho State
University assistant professor with a concealed-carry gun permit shot
himself in the foot with a semiautomatic handgun that accidentally
discharged from inside his pocket in a chemistry classroom full of
students, police said on Wednesday.
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No other injuries were reported and no charges have been filed in
Tuesday's shooting in Pocatello in a building that is part of the
university’s physical science department, according to Pocatello
Police Lieutenant Paul Manning.
The instructor, who was treated and released from a local hospital,
possessed a so-called enhanced concealed-carry permit that allowed
him to carry a hidden gun on campus under a state law that went into
effect on July 1.
Idaho’s Republican-led legislature passed the law allowing guns on
university grounds earlier this year over the objection of the
presidents of the state’s leading universities, including Idaho
State, which was routinely ranked as one of the safest campuses in
the United States.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Sep/06/images/ads/current/ldn_sda012312c.png) In response to the new law, the university for the first time
dispatched public safety officers armed with semiautomatic pistols
to patrol the university’s southeastern Idaho campus this summer to
safeguard students and staff. Those officers and Pocatello police responded to Tuesday's shooting,
which college spokeswoman Adrienne King said did not pose an
imminent threat to the school of 14,000 students nor require a
lockdown or evacuations.
An examination of records dating to 1997 showed no other reports of
an accidental shooting on campus, she said.
Manning said authorities are investigating why the small-caliber
weapon discharged, whether it was fitted with a safety device and if
the device was engaged at the time of the incident.
Guns are banned in areas of the physical science complex where there
is nuclear research but are allowed under the new law in the
chemistry lab where the firearm went off, King said.
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Nineteen students are enrolled in the chemistry course but it was
unclear how many were on hand when the incident took place, King
said. She declined to release the name of the instructor, citing
privacy laws tied to personnel matters.
“Idaho State University is in compliance with the Idaho gun law.
Yesterday’s incident was an unfortunate accident,” university
President Arthur Vailas said in a statement.
The university is likely to conduct an administrative review of the
incident after a probe by Pocatello police, officials said.
(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric
Beech)
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