Columbia University protests: NYPD officer’s gun discharged at Hamilton Hall during operation to remove encampment, students

NEW YORK — Amid the chaos of the Hamilton Hall occupation at Columbia University, the NYPD said an officer unintentionally fired a shot in the building.

It happened Tuesday night as an Emergency Services Unit officer was conducting an extensive search on the first floor.

He was opening the locked door from the inside, and when he shifted the gun from his dominant hand to his nondominant hand, he accidentally fired his weapon.

The bullet went into the office, landing on the floor, and no one was struck.

Police say at the time, there were only police personnel in sight or sound of the accidental discharge.

The department averages about eight accidental discharges a year.

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In response to questions about the use of a SWAT team for the Columbia University operation, Assistant Chief Carlos Valdez, the commanding officer of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit, defended the decision, citing the necessity of being prepared for unpredictable situations when dealing with barricaded individuals.

The NYPD is investigating that incident, as talks between police and New York City schools continue on the topic of protests.

Between Columbia and City College New York alone, 282 people were arrested, and police say 47% weren’t affiliated with these schools.

In a press conference earlier this week, Mayor Eric Adams made it clear that he believes many people at the protests are not students, and should not be there.

“Do we see familiar faces of people around the protests? And they came back substantiated on the Columbia grounds and other grounds that those who were professionals participated in training and participated in some of the activities,” Adams said.

Student protesters countered that sentiment.

“The idea of us being ‘outside agitators’ is false. We are all current students. Everyone had a connection to Columbia in one way or another in there,” one student said.

Early Friday, dozens more people were arrested when the NYPD cleared out protests at two Greenwich Village universities, NYU and The New School.