NYPD: Oh Yeah, Did We Forget to Say We Fired a Gun at Columbia?

The "unparalleled professionalism" exhibited by the NYPD in forcibly removing student protesters from Columbia University on Tuesday night apparently included an officer shooting a gun at a wall inside the university's Hamilton Hall. The officer"accidentally" discharged their weapon, according to a statement from an NYPD spokesperson given to THE CITY.

The spokesperson said the officer was attempting to navigate a barricade (perhaps one secured with that nefarious tool of the professional outside agitatoe, a bike lock),when he pulled out his gun, which was “equipped with a flashlight,” and accidentally shot it at a wall.  "The gun fired did not appear to be aimed at anyone and no one was injured," according to a separate statement from the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

An image posted online by student protesters the night of the raid shows one officer texting "I thought we fucking shot someone." 

If this all sounds like yet another example to you of bumbling that would be funny if it weren't so unforgivable, from a police department that is increasingly being asked by university presidents to arrest non-violent student protesters the NYPD leadership see as "vile," not to worry—the Police Accountability Unit "is reviewing the shooting, which it does as a matter of policy." Okay, phew.

The incident does not seem to be giving university administrators pause regarding what the NYPD is capable of doing to the students in their care, however—this morning, the New School and NYU both followed Columbia's lead in calling the police to raid encampments of students protesting for Palestine.

Links:

• Columbia University's chapter of the American Association of University Professors has called for a vote of no confidence in University President Minouche Shafik.
• Ominously, the owner of popular Dimes Square small-bite wine bar Le Dive has filed for a liquor license at beloved East Village bar Lucy's.
• The family of Win Rozario, a 19-year-old who was killed by the NYPD, is demanding NYPD release body camera footage of the shooting.
• The lowest number of homeless New Yorkers in a decade are moving from shelters to vacant NYCHA housing.
• City Council Member Lincoln Restler wants to know why a sexual harassment complaint against mayoral aide Timothy Pearson was squashed.
• Pro-Palestine protesters at Rutgers University have reached an agreement with administrators and are dismantling their encampment, though the deal does not include divestment, which the University says is "not in the President's control."
• Chelsea Piers ice skating coaches who tried to unionize were fired.
• There's a new initiative that pairs MTA cops with mental health professionals to "help" mentally ill people in the subway system.
• The Mets are looking for a "manager of mascot operations."
• Mayor Adams wants to raise your water bill. 
• The City's first pet-friendly shelter will open in the Bronx.
• Oh yeah, and one good thing happened: