Kent State spokesman Eric Mansfield says police apprehended a man around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night, a few hours after a single shot was fired into the ground outside Bowman Hall, an academic building.
The whole campus was in lockdown as swarms of law enforcement descended on campus.
Mansfield says it’s not known why the shot was fired, or if the person responsible is a student. But he says the arrest is a relief to the campus.
“We know this was a jarring evening for our students and staff and they behaved greatly, following instructions, as our police followed their protocol, and it’s good to know tonight that he’s in custody, and that our campus is safe again.”
Students tweeted photos of the chaos, which included armored personnel sweeping through buildings, looking for the suspect. The incident follows earlier news of a more fatal encounter at the Fort Hood Military base in Texas, where a gunman killed three people then himself. And many Kent residents still recall the deadly confrontation between Ohio National Guardsmen and KSU war demonstrators in 1970, which left four students dead.
(Story by ideastream's Brian Bull)