WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Two men have been arrested after an incident where two purdue students were injured by shots from a pellet gun.
Police were called around 2:40 a.m. by a victim who said that he was walking south on Grant Street between State and Wood streets when he felt something strike his chest. The Purdue student told police he went home and did not seek medical treatment right away. He was later taken by Purdue ambulance to IU Health Arnett Hospital to be treated for his injury.
A short time later, police stopped a vehicle leaving the Wood Street Parking garage. They found a pellet gun and scope inside the vehicle. Officers interviewed all three men inside the vehicle.
Christopher W. Smith, 20, of Frankfort, faces a preliminary charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Austin R. Smith, 18, of Frankfort, faces a preliminary charge of attempted criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. The third man in the vehicle has not yet been charged. None of the men is affiliated with the university.
Police were notified around 5 a.m. about a second student who was being treated at St. Elizabeth East for a chest injury. That victim told police that he was riding his bike home around 3 a.m. when he felt something strike him in the chest near the intersection of Grant and Wood Streets. He also did not seek medical treatment right away but later went to the hospital when the pain got worse.
Both Smith and Smith are being held in Tippecanoe County Jail on $10,000 surety bonds.
The incidents remain under investigation by Purdue police.
