UK police dash to campus armory to arrest man with gun
A University of Kentucky employee called police Monday afternoon when he saw a man walking into the Buell Armory with a gun, according to the university.
The man, since identified as Diontre Davis, is being charged with carrying a concealed weapon and criminal trespassing, UK President Eli Capilouto said in an email to students Monday. Additional charges are expected.
UK Police arrived at the armory about 90 seconds after the employee called just before 1 p.m., according to the email. A UK Alert was not issued, because “the incident in question was handled so quickly that an alert would not have been effective in this case,” Capilouto said.
Davis lives in Texas and is not a UK student, Capilouto said in his email.
Prior to the incident Monday, a warrant had been out for Davis’ arrest related to harassing social media posts he is accused of making against a UK student in March, UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said. UK police had been tracking and investigating Davis since then, he said.
Davis complied with officers’ directions when he was arrested on Monday, Monroe said. At this point, police said it is too early to say whether Davis intended to use the gun on campus or not.
“I want to applaud the responsiveness of our UK Police Department, who acted with tremendous skill and speed to a dangerous situation,” Capilouto said in the email. “I also want to thank employees in the Armory, who — when they saw something they thought was suspicious — did not hesitate to report it to UK Police. Campus safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Monday afternoon Davis was booked into the Fayette County jail. In addition to the gun and trespassing charges, he faces a count of terroristic threatening and two counts of disorderly conduct, according to the jail website.
The Buell Armory is in Barker Hall, which houses UK’s Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC programs.
Morgan Eads: 859-231-1330, @HLpublicsafety
This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 4:25 PM with the headline "UK police dash to campus armory to arrest man with gun."