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Manhattan DA says officer fired gun during Columbia University confrontation
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published May 2, 2024
Modified May 3, 2024
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Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published May 2, 2024
Modified May 3, 2024
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The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said an NYPD officer fired their gun earlier this week inside Hamilton Hall – a Columbia University building where police were clearing out protesters – contesting Mayor Eric Adams’ description of a well-executed operation that sought to restore calm.
Officers entered the campus on Tuesday to clear the occupied university building and a tent encampment amid a standoff with demonstrators protesting Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The shooting was first reported by the news outlet The City, and confirmed by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office. Police, who had not disclosed the gunshot for two days, confirmed the event after the news broke Thursday.
NYPD officials said a male officer was conducting a search of the building in an attempt to find a way into the protesters' barricade. The NYPD press office said the officer used the flashlight on his gun to illuminate a path and managed to accidentally fire off a single round which struck a wall a few feet away. The NYPD said no one was injured and only police were in the vicinity at the time.
The incident would seem to belie the mayor's insistence that the police carried out a well-executed, "professional" operation.
“There are a multitude of things that happens in a city of this capacity and magnitude, and you have to be a well-organized professional operation to deal with all of those encounters,” Adams told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday morning.
Adams has also repeatedly blamed outside instigators for orchestrating the protests, but the city has yet to provide clear evidence of who those agitators are. The agitator theory was among the central justifications for police going into the campus in the first place, but several days after the raid, neither the police nor the mayor have been able to provide specific evidence of a coordinated outside effort.
In a statement released late Thursday, the mayor’s office and NYPD provided a more detailed breakdown of Tuesday’s arrests, saying only about 30% of the 112 Columbia protesters arrested on Tuesday were not affiliated with the school.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment
The Israel-Hamas war, which started after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostages on Oct. 7, has resulted in the deaths of nearly 35,000 Gazans.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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