A 20-year-old Washington State University student fired at by officers in a dorm Wednesday was the same person who had made a report of a man with a knife which prompted the shooting, police said Thursday in a news release.
The student was booked in the Whitman County Jail on charges of assault, resisting arrest, intimidation of a public servant and obstruction, according to the release.
On Wednesday morning around 11:20 a.m., WSU police responded to the Global Scholars residence hall for a call of a man with a knife.
Officers confronted the person, who had his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. He began moving toward officers and did not follow instructions to stop and remove his hands from his pockets. An officer deployed a Taser, which did not initially work, and the student continued to move toward the officers, police said in the release.
The student then “quickly removed his hands from his sweatshirt in an aggressive manner,” which is when an officer fired his gun.
The student was not hit by a bullet. After officers shocked the student with a Taser, he was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital for evaluation, according to the news release.
The name of the officer who fired the shot was not released.
A regional investigative team will investigate the use of force and the involved officer will be placed on administrative leave, police said.
In a statement, WSU Pullman Chancellor Elizabeth Chilton wrote she was “deeply concerned” to learn about the incident and pointed students to counseling services.
“I am thankful that no one was seriously injured in this incident, and I would like to commend WSU Police and Pullman Fire on their timely response,” she wrote.