The parent of a Kentucky State University student has been charged with murder in a campus shooting that left one student dead and another seriously injured.
Police said in a statement that Jacob Lee Budd opened fire on the victims in a dormitory on the Frankfort school campus on Tuesday.
Investigators say the shooting was isolated, but they have not publicly disclosed the circumstances or a possible motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis. The second student who was shot remains in critical condition, police said, but his name has not been released.
Budd, 48, was jailed on charges of murder and first-degree assault. Police said Budd was from Evansville, Indiana, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Frankfort.
Budd is represented by a public defender with the Franklin County Department of Public Advocacy, which declined to discuss his case Wednesday.
University police were near the scene of an altercation that led to the shooting and immediately arrested Budd, police said.
Investigators viewed video and surveillance footage taken by others at the scene.
Frankfort Assistant Police Chief Scott Tracy declined to say what may have led to the shooting when reporters asked about video of Bader’s son fighting before the shooting or whether Bader might have been on campus to talk to administrators about his son’s safety.
“It’s really too early in the investigation to really provide any details leading up to the investigation. A lot of it is just speculation,” Tracy said Wednesday.
The shooting occurred at Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall. This is the second shooting in four months near a student dormitory.
On Aug. 17, someone fired multiple shots from a car, striking two people the school said were not students. Frankfurt police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and another suffered serious injuries. The dormitory and at least one car were damaged by gunfire.
University President Koffi C. Akakpo said the school deployed additional police officers after the first shooting and would evaluate whether more steps were needed to ensure student safety after the investigation into the latest shooting was completed.
“Campus is a safe place,” Acapo said in a news release.
Kentucky State University is a public, historically black university with approximately 2,200 students. Legislators approved the creation of the school in 1886.
The school is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the Reichstag in Frankfurt.