Police are investigating a string of crimes in an Ohio university’s dorm that included the shooting of a student and the assault of a campus police chief Monday night.
Four students at Central State University have been implicated in three crimes, two of which may have been related.
The victims include a CSU student who is in stable condition after suffering a bullet wound to the leg and CSU Police Chief Stephanie Hill, who has undisclosed injuries to her back and hip, reports abc22now.com.
“I don’t like to call things accidents, because somebody hurts to pull the trigger on that gun,” Chief Hill said of the shooting. “Whether it was just a mishandling of a firearm we just don’t know at this time.”
The busy night started around 8:30 pm Monday when campus police responded to a report of an armed robbery in a dorm building. While CSU police officers were investigating that incident they heard what they believed to be a gunshot come from a different floor in the same building.
Shortly afterward officers discovered a freshman student with a gunshot wound as they were investigating the noise.
Sometime later that night, an altercation occurred in the same dorm between Chief Hill and CSU student Darion Jones. Hill sustained her injuries when she fell during the scuffle.
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Jones has been charged with felonious assault for that incident. It does not appear the alleged confrontation is related to the robbery or shooting.
CSU officials issued a lockdown shortly after the gunshot was heard and sent out an emergency alert to the campus community. Nearby Wilberforce University was also briefly locked down.
The Green County Sheriff’s office, which is investigating all three incidents, brought in canine units in conjunction with the Kettering Police Department later that night. The investigators recovered a gun in a wooded area near campus but could not locate any suspects.
Police have confirmed that three suspects in the armed robbery and shooting are CSU students. Officers are still investigating the connection between the robbery and shooting.
“This is an unfortunate incident that has become the norm across the United States,” Chief Hill said.
Chief Hill also said the university will consider added officer patrols on campus this week and work on improving communication when handling future incidents.
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