Shooting at Kentucky State University leaves 1 dead, 1 hurt and a suspect in custody, officials say

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — One student was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at a residence hall at Kentucky State University on Tuesday, and a suspect who is not a student at the school has been arrested, officials said.

The shooting happened around 3 p.m. and was an “isolated incident,” Scott Tracy, assistant chief of police for Frankfort, said during a news conference Tuesday evening. Tracy said police swiftly responded to the shooting.

“There are no active safety concerns on campus at this time,” he said. Authorities haven’t publicly addressed a motive.

Frankfort police said Jacob Lee Bard was booked into jail on murder and first-degree assault charges in connection with the shooting. Police said Bard is from Evansville, Indiana, which is about 150 miles (241.4 kilometers) west of Frankfort.

Bard was not listed in online county court records and jail records did not name an attorney for him. The public defender’s office and prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for information on who can comment on his behalf or whether he has an attorney.

Video from WLKY-TV in Louisville showed multiple police vehicles outside a cluster of dormitories and crime scene tape in a courtyard at the school in Frankfort, the state’s capital city.

One student who was shot at the residence hall, Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall, is in critical condition but is stable, according to the university. The school is not immediately releasing the names of the students.

“We are in close contact with the families and are providing every available support to them,” the school said in a statement, adding that counseling and support services are available.

Gov. Andy Beshear said in a video message posted on X that the shooting “appears to be an isolated incident” and that “there is no ongoing threat.”

“Violence has no place in our commonwealth or country. Let’s please pray for the families affected and for our KSU students. Let’s also pray for a world where these things don’t happen,” he said.

Classes, final exams and campus activities at the university have been canceled for the rest of the week, according to the school. The fall term was scheduled to end Friday, according to the school website.

“Students may return home if they choose,” the school said in a statement. “Additional guidance will be communicated as soon as possible.”

University President Koffi C. Akakpo called it a “senseless tragedy.”

“We’re mourning the loss of one of our students,” he said during the news conference Tuesday evening. “As a parent I cannot imagine receiving the call I placed today to the parents.”

The shooting was the second in four months in the same area of the university.

Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle near the same residence hall 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.

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.