KSU says it is reviewing security, will hire more police officers after shooting
The president of Kentucky State University told lawmakers the school has reviewed processes on campus and will hire more police officers following the fatal shooting that occurred on campus in December.
At the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education on Thursday, KSU President Koffi Akakpo was asked by Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, about safety on campus.
“Our hearts go out to everyone in that situation, and I know some people have expressed concerns about safety and security on campus as students are coming back,” Tipton said. “Could you address a little bit about safety and security on campus, and maybe steps to just let people know that there is a safe environment on campus now?”
On Dec. 9, De’Jon Fox Jr., a 19-year-old KSU student, was killed in a shooting that took place outside Whitney M. Young Hall, a dorm on the south side of campus. A second student was injured in the shooting. Jacob Bard, 48, was arrested and charged with murder and first-degree assault after the shooting.
Bard told investigators he and his wife were on campus to remove their two sons from the school because of safety concerns, and charges against him were later dropped. More than 20 people gathered in the lobby of the dorm before “violently and viciously” attacking Jacob Bard, his wife and two children, who were being escorted by two armed campus police officers, their lawyers said.
“The campus is a safe place,” Akakpo said during the meeting. “What happened was just an isolated incident, unfortunately.”
KSU’s campus crime records showed five reports of assault, five reports of theft and two reports of harassment in Young Hall from August to December 2025. Specifics of each report are not listed, and it’s not clear if any are directly connected to the Dec. 9 shooting. Bard’s lawyer said the family went to campus police that day to report that their son had been assaulted on campus. Reports of assault, harassment and theft were also reported in other on-campus dorms throughout the semester.
In the wake of the shooting, Akakpo said Thusday the university has reviewed “every single process on campus.” That includes looking at the state of security in dorms, including doors into the dorms.
Additionally, the school is looking to hire more police officers, he said.
“We have posted positions for more police officers, and we’re hiring more security officers, as well as enhancing processes on campus to prevent this from ever happening again,” Akakpo said.
The university previously declined to comment on any security measures on campus after the shooting, citing an ongoing investigation.
Public colleges and universities that receive federal funding are required to disclose campus crime data under the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act. As a result, schools must publish an annual security report, issue timely warnings related to security threats on campus and publish a daily crime log.
Earlier this month, KSU’s crime log had not been updated since October 28, 2025. Following questions from Herald-Leader reporters, it was later updated to include crime data through December, and currently shows updates through January 16.
In addition to the Clery Act, Kentucky state law requires each postsecondary education institution to “make, keep, and maintain a daily log, written in a form approved by the Council on Postsecondary Education that can be easily understood.” Entries in the crime log must be made available to the public within 24 hours, and “readily accessible and open for public inspection,” according to state law.
Fatal shooting on Dec. 9
Bard’s lawyers said while the family was given a campus police escort to move their children out of the dorm, they were “violently and viciously” attached when they arrived. Bard’s lawyers said the shooting was in self-defense.
Campus security footage and a video on social media showed several people running frantically, including one person who was holding a baseball bat, before police say Bard opened fire just after 3 p.m.
Bard’s lawyers said this took place after months of burglaries and attacks on campus against Bard’s children. A Franklin County grand jury declined to indict Bard, dropping the charges against him.
The same day a jury declined to indict Bard, the parents of Fox — Chardnae Lashaun Cleveland, 37, and De’Jon Darrell Fox, 38 — were arrested and charged with intimidation in Evansville, Indiana.