Student Arrested After Shot Fired in McDonough
MPD: Gun Taken From Officer at Midnight Madness
Updated at 9:23 p.m. on Oct. 20.
First-year student Alex Thiele was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department after a shot was fired in a McDonough Gymnasium bathroom during Friday’s Midnight Madness.
According to an MPD incident report, Park Police officer Sherice Clanton set down her purse, which contained her issued weapon, a black .40-caliber handgun, in McDonough Gymnasium. Clanton later noticed that the gun was missing from her purse and notified MPD personnel.
“After further investigation by MPD it was found that [Thiele] had discharged the weapon inside the bathroom in the gym and fled the location,” the report said. The toilet bowl damaged by the gunshot was valued by MPD at $250.
Clanton was identified on a U.S. Park Police blog in June as a U.S. Park Police officer.
The MPD report said the incident began at 10:21 p.m. and ended at 10:25 p.m.
Officers located Thiele and the weapon in Village C West, where they took him into custody. No shots were fired in Village C, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson said.
Thiele was identified on an MPD daily arrest report, available via the MPD Second District Yahoo group.
Simon Chivi (NHS ’12), who was the student guard in Village C West starting at 8 p.m. Friday, said a male student was led outside from the third floor of the building’s X Wing in handcuffs by DPS officers at about 11 p.m.
Chivi said about six DPS officers and about five MPD officers entered the building before apprehending Thiele.
At midnight, four MPD crime scene technicians entered Village C West and carried equipment to the third floor of the X Wing.
Thiele will face charges of criminal possession of a weapon without license, theft and destruction of property, according to the MPD report.
Those who attended Midnight Madness, an annual event marking the beginning of the basketball season’s official practices, were barred from leaving McDonough Gymnasium immediately after the conclusion of festivities just before 11 p.m. The attendees, who Olson said were cooperative with DPS, began leaving at about 11:05 p.m.
Olson and Vice President for University Safety Rocco DelMonaco sent an e-mail to the university community at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday notifying campus of the arrest.
DelMonaco also spoke at parents’ weekend activities Saturday to discuss safety and emergency preparedness efforts, university spokesperson Julie Bataille said.
“I have not personally gotten calls about [the incident] but it would only be natural for questions to arise,” Bataille said on Saturday.
DPS and personnel at the MPD Second District office declined to comment for this report.
Hoya Staff Writers Kevin Barber and Jenny Rogers contributed to this report.
Oct 17 2009 at 1:11 a.m.
Would you please update us as soon as you get more information? Thanks for the report, though, it cleared up why there were many police cars outside of the building.
Oct 17 2009 at 9:25 a.m.
There is no excuse for any Georgetown student to be in possession of a loaded firearm at anytime with the exception of an official University supervised activity.
Oct 17 2009 at 12:45 p.m.
The Voice blog is covering this better. More like snoozepaper of record.
Oct 17 2009 at 2:22 p.m.
The voice's blog post had numerous errors in its initial drafts. That's extremely irresponsible journalism especially considering the situation. Imagine being a parent off campus or a student in village c and a supposed news source is supplying you with shoddy info regarding a gun on campus.
Oct 17 2009 at 3:36 p.m.
Well, seeing as the Hoya's story mostly involves counting police cars and police officers, I'm gonna have to go with the guy above.. Vox is getting the info out there. They do need to source their info better, however.
Oct 17 2009 at 5:06 p.m.
OK, let's hold up a minute here. The Voice was reporting the information as it came in -- just like any news organization does. Balloon boy, anyone? They made the requisite edits as they got more info. That's as responsible as they can be.
Dear God, the inability of half of the posters to consider rationale journalist practices prior to posting a reaction accusing reporters of poor standards certainly doesn't help those standards improve. Neither the Hoya nor the Voice have done anything wrong the last few weeks, yet we keep searching for that.
Oct 17 2009 at 5:12 p.m.
The Voice, even if it has made a few errors, has gotten the general gist of the story accurately. Off Duty Police Officer loses gun, subsequently ends up in the hands of a student who shoots a toilet in the gym then goes back to his room in VCW where he is apprehended and arrested.
Oct 18 2009 at 3:22 a.m.
Vox Populi has upped the ante for news around campus. The Voice has responded and made the move to a faster paced, interactive news media outlet while the Hoya lags behind like so many traditional print sources. Oh well.
Oct 18 2009 at 12:47 p.m.
Arm DPS they put their lives on the line to catch a guy armed with a swat handgn bet u wish they wre armed if this guywould have went Va tech in the gym
Oct 18 2009 at 1:18 p.m.
The above commenters criticize the Hoya so much, yet they still come to the site and read the articles and post comments. The Hoya's coverage can't be that bad, or else you'd stop coming to the site. SO either you're trolls or Voice staffers trying to drum up controversy.
Oct 18 2009 at 1:24 p.m.
Anyone see the picture on the Voice blog of two Voice writers standing next to the busted up toilet and smiling? Solid stuff. Although they've taken it down now, someone must have told them how ridiculously unprofessional it made them look
Oct 18 2009 at 3:22 p.m.
Nobody's commented on the most significant line of this article: "A toilet bowl damaged by the gunshot was valued by MPD at $250." Reading between the lines, it seems the suspect stole the gun and shot a toilet. Hilarious.
Oct 21 2009 at 12:14 p.m.
Sorry, but as a former federal law enforcement officer, leaving your firearm unattended in a public place was a big no no. In a Purse, whatever. Do Police Officers remove their gun belt and walk away from it?
Sometimes I wonder why a Park police woman needs a firearm. Is Yogi the Bear now armed in the City somewhere? I can see them carrying on the job in the "PARK," but at a School?
Park Officer also needs to be reprimanded for an unattended firearm. Geez, also being an Army Military Police Captain, "ANY" soldier knows not to leave their weapon unattended. Common sense. Officers are trained to know better. Blame needs to go to both parties mentioned!
Oct 21 2009 at 12:51 p.m.
Was this guy just really wasted, or what?