Irshadgul News report,
The campus of a liberal arts college in Maine was temporarily closed early Saturday after a shooting occurred on a student housing complex at what a student called a huge annual party.
Colby College said no students were injured during a brawl involving a firearm being discharged at the Alfond senior apartment on campus in Waterville, Maine.
No Colby students were injured. The suspect is a 24-year-old Waterville man who is not affiliated with the college. The school said in a statement that police were continuing to search for others involved.
The college said that police did not realize the imminent danger to the campus community, but asked students to exercise caution throughout the night.
The school said the lockdown was lifted later Saturday morning.
An email sent to the student body at 2:21 p.m. by Barbara Moore, the college’s interim dean, was shared by a student, stating that the Waterville Police Department has “detained an individual who may have contributed to the events there.” ran in and fired a gun.”
“We urge you to take shelter until we have additional information that the campus is completely secure,” wrote Moore, who did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
Waterville Interim Police Chief William Bonney said in a statement released Saturday that officers were called to the college around 1:30 a.m. late Saturday after reports of shots fired on the Colby campus.
When police arrived, they found a 24-year-old man lying on the ground with a blow to his head. Police say that the youth had a dispute with two other people. None of the three were Colby students.
The wounded man fired two rounds from the 9mm handgun into the walls of the hallway without injury. He was treated for his injuries at a hospital and then arrested and charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. He has a court appearance on Monday.
“It is very fortunate that no innocent bystanders were hurt by this reckless behaviour,” Boney said in a statement. “I feel terrible for the students and parents who had to go through the trauma of this incident, the worry that a loved one of theirs could be hurt or worse.”
Colby, founded in 1813, is the 12th oldest liberal arts college in the US, according to the school’s website.