Staff Report
Last Thursday, Northern Kentucky University issued a press release regarding an incident involving a student with a firearm on campus.
The press release said that around 9:45 a.m., University police received a report of a student with a weapon in a third-floor study area at Steely Library, that two officers responded in fewer than 60 seconds and that a female student admitted to having a handgun in her bag. She turned over the weapon without incident and was taken into custody. Some students were evacuated from the library.
The student was charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license and was lodged at the Campbell County Detention Center.
The press release said “The handgun was determined to be inoperable.”
Questions arose about the wording in the press release and inconsistencies between the press release and the actual police report which said that the female student, Jaylin N. Johnson, had semiautomatic Cobra .380 pistol in her backpack, that she had threatened another student with it, that it had a “round in the chamber and a misfeed causing the slide to jam to the rear.” She denied cocking the pistol, “even though one misfeed was in the slide,” according to the police report.
Concerns were expressed by faculty, staff and students through social media that the university had not been forthcoming about the incident and had not issued an appropriate alert to the campus.
Today, nearly a week since the incident, NKU President Geoffrey Mearns has issued this statement to the university community:
Dear Campus Community:
This afternoon, in response to an open records request in accordance with Kentucky law, our police department released additional documents regarding last week’s incident where a student brought a firearm to campus.
I want to make you aware of this development. I also want to address some of the questions I have received over the past few days.
First, the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors is my top priority, as president and as the father of an NKU student.
Within minutes of being informed of the incident, I assembled several members of my executive team. By that time, our police department had apprehended the suspect and confiscated a single, loaded firearm. Upon inspection of the firearm, police determined it was jammed, rendering it inoperable. No additional weapons or additional ammunition were present, and the police investigation produced no evidence that the student attempted to fire the gun.
Because police were on scene with the student within 60 seconds of receiving the initial call, and because they were able to quickly conclude that no other suspects were involved, a Norse Alert was not issued. This decision was consistent with our Norse Alert policy, which calls for an alert to be sent if there is a significant disruption of campus services or if the campus is in imminent danger and individuals should take immediate safety precautions.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, our goal was to reassure the campus that there was no ongoing threat while providing as much accurate information as we could. As with any such incident, we will review our response to determine opportunities to strengthen relevant policies and procedures.
The student in question has been barred from campus.
I am grateful to our officers who acted swiftly and professionally. Their quick and thorough response ensured a safe resolution, and we will recognize them at next week’s Board of Regents meeting.
I am also grateful to each of you, who stay alert and report suspicious activity. We are all responsible for maintaining a safe campus environment for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
Thank you.
Geoff
