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Investigators said the shooting was isolated, but they have not
publicly shared details of the circumstances or a possible
motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of
Indianapolis. A second student who was shot remains in critical
condition, but his name has not been released, police said.
Bard, 48, was booked into jail on murder and first-degree
assault charges. Police said Bard is from Evansville, Indiana,
which is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Frankfort.
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.
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