NYPD officer’s gun accidentally fired while clearing protesters at Columbia: police

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11) – An NYPD officer’s gun was accidentally fired while protesters were being removed from a Columbia University building on Tuesday night, according to authorities.

Columbia’s administration asked the NYPD to handle protesters inside Hamilton Hall. No one was injured after the shot was fired, police said.

Mayor Adams claims ‘outside agitators’ are co-opting college protests

Around 300 people were arrested in protests at Columbia University and City College on Tuesday, according to the NYPD. The mayor and NYPD have claimed “outside agitators” influenced protests at the colleges and said 29% of the protesters arrested at Columbia were not students.

At City College, 60% of the individuals arrested were not affiliated with the school, officials claimed.

Pro-Palestinian protesters take down encampment at Rutgers University

Colleges are negotiating with students, who are asking the schools to divest from companies that support Israel. Columbia has offered to share more information on its finances and review it with the divestment committee.

Instead, Columbia is looking into making investments in health and education in Gaza.

The NYPD worked Friday morning to clear out encampments at NYU and The New School at the request of the colleges, according to NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.

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