A 19-year-old Indianapolis resident and Kentucky State University student was killed during a shooting on the university's campus on Tuesday afternoon.
The Franklin County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Dejon Darrell Fox, Jr., who was pronounced deceased at Frankfort Regional Medical Center at 4:33 p.m. Tuesday.
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Fox's family said he was a sophomore at the university and attended Victory College Prep in Indianapolis.
"You send your child to school, to college… You don’t expect anything like this. You expect them to do some things, but not this," April Terrance, Dejon's grandmother, said.
Fox's family said the 19-year-old was someone who was always dancing and trying to make others laugh.
"You could be in the worst mood, and he's going to keep playing and keep playing," said Chardnae Cleveland, Dejon's mother, said.
The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon near Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall on KSU's campus. A second student was also shot and remains in stable but critical condition at UK Hospital.
Jacob Lee Bard of Evansville, Indiana, has been charged with murder and first-degree assault in connection with the shooting. According to a police report, Bard was involved in a physical altercation on campus when he pulled a handgun and shot two individuals. Police confirmed that Bard was not a student at the university, but is the father of another student.
Bard appeared in court on Thursday morning. The judge set his bond at $1 million in cash.
"They are encouraged no firearms. How is that okay for him? That is not okay. They did not protect my nephew; they didn’t make sure he was okay," said Jessica Fox, Dejon's aunt.
The incident prompted an immediate lockdown of the KSU campus as law enforcement responded to reports of an active aggressor just after 3:30 p.m. The Frankfort Police Department, working with KSU Campus Police and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, quickly secured the campus and arrested the suspect.
In a press conference on Wednesday, police were asked about a video circulating on social media that shows a fight before the shooting. WRTV does not have permission to share that video, but investigators say they do have it, and it is part of the investigation. The family has seen it as well.
"If you were going to be the adult, to show up, what you should have done was let them fight it out or try to stop the fight. You brought a gun to a kid fight," said Terrance.
The investigation remains ongoing by the Frankfort City Police Department and the Franklin County Coroner's Office.
Kentucky State University has canceled classes, final exams, and activities for the remainder of the week.
