An NYPD officer accidentally fired his gun while storming Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall Tuesday night during the operation to oust anti-Israel protesters who illegally took over the building, according to police sources.
The cop did not appear to aim the weapon at anyone, and no one was injured, said Douglas Cohen, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
Sources told The Post it was likely an accidental discharge.
The DA’s Police Accountability Unit is investigating the shooting, Cohen noted: “It is our policy to review such incidents.”
The cop fired the weapon as more than 100 Emergency Service Unit officers swarmed the Ivy League building April 30 to clear out the roughly 50 protesters who broke inside the night before.
The NYPD blocked journalists from getting too close to the break-up, instead relegating them to a nearby area where they witnessed the suspects be walked out in zip-tie handcuffs and placed into department buses.
In bodycam footage of the raid released by the NYPD Tuesday, several officers can be seen drawing their firearms after breaking down a barricaded door and sweeping one of the rooms.
Antisemitism controversy at Columbia University: Key events
- More than 280 anti-Israel demonstrators were cuffed at Columbia and the City of New York campuses overnight in a “massive” NYPD operation.
- One hundred and nine people were nabbed at the Ivy League campus after cops responded to Columbia’s request to help oust a destructive mob that had illegally taken over the Hamilton Hall academic building late Tuesday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and police said.
- Hizzoner blamed the on-campus chaos on insurgents who have a “history of escalating situations and trying to create chaos” instead of protesting peacefully.
- Columbia’s embattled president Minouche Shafik, who has faced mounting calls to resign for not cracking down sooner, issued a statement Wednesday saying the on-campus violence had “pushed the university to the brink.”
- Columbia University president Minouche Shafik was accused of “gross negligence” while testifying before Congress. Shafik refused to say if the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic.
- More than 100 Columbia professors signed a letter defending students who support the “military action” by Hamas.
- Not affiliated with school: 13
- Students at affiliated institutions: 6
- Undergrad students: 14
- Grad students: 9
- Columbia employees: 2
They were also seen deploying flashbang stun grenades after cutting through one of several sets of barricades, consisting of a mountain of chairs and tables linked by a chained metal fence.
There was minimal physical contact shown in the videos — other than when an officer shoved a ski mask-clad rioter with what appeared to be a makeshift shield duct-taped to his arm.
“Put it down, you’re gonna get hurt,” the cop said, as he pushed the protester to the floor.
A total of 109 people were arrested during Tuesday night’s operation, which also included the final clearing of the encampment on the campus’ lawn — which started a nationwide trend at other elite universities since its mid-April erection.
Those inside Hamilton Hall were charged with burglary, trespassing and criminal mischief.