ELIZABETH CITY, N.C – A former student at a North Carolina university who was seen carrying an AK-47 style rifle on campus was shot by police Saturday before being taken into custody and charged.
Rashaad Gardner was charged with assault by pointing a gun, possession of a weapon on state educational property and going armed to the terror of the people, WAVY reported.
Campus police on patrol at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C., about 50 miles south of Norfolk, Va., saw students running from part of the campus and saying they had seen a man with a rifle, Police Chief Samuel Beamon said.
An alert posted on the college's website said gunshots were fired on campus shortly after 2:30 a.m. local time Saturday.
The campus was put on lockdown during the incident. Officers saw Gardner wielding an AK-47 style rifle, and he was shot in the leg by an officer during a confrontation.
Gardner fled into a wooded area near the campus while still armed, Beamon said. University police contacted the Elizabeth City Police Department, which dispatched officers and a K-9 unit to locate him.
Gardner was apprehended at 3:28 a.m. local time and taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.
He was being held Sunday in the Albermarle District Jail on $50,000 bond.
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