An officer whose gun went off inside a Columbia University building this week fired it accidentally as the police were removing pro-Palestinian protesters from the campus, the New York Police Department said on Thursday.
The officer, who was not identified, was approaching a barricade on the first floor of Hamilton Hall when he fired his gun, which had a flashlight on it, the police said.
The shooting was captured on the officer’s body camera, which was handed over to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
The episode did not come to light until Thursday, when The City, a local news organization, published a story that said a shot had been fired inside Hamilton Hall on Tuesday as police cleared the Columbia campus of protesters.
It was the second time in two weeks that Columbia officials asked the police to enter the Manhattan campus to remove demonstrators.
Organizations:
Columbia University, New York Police, Hamilton Hall, Hamilton, Columbia
Locations:
Manhattan, The City