NYU arrests made as NYPD explains shot fired by sergeant in Columbia takedown

The NYPD was called to dismantle a pro-Palestinian protest at NYU early Friday, while top department officials later found themselves explaining how an officer's gun went off during the takedown at Columbia University.

No one was hurt when a sergeant's gun "unintentionally discharged" during the Hamilton Hall raid. It happened as the sergeant and his team were trying to access a locked office through a broken window. They had been tasked with clearing every room in the building.

"The situation was fluid, and under low-light conditions," Chief Carlos Valdez, ESU commanding officer, explained Friday.

The sergeant was trying to use the flashlight attached to his gun at the time; it was in his non-dominant hand, because he was using his dominant hand to reach through the shattered glass and try to unlock the door, Valdez said.

The bullet ended up on the floor. No one was inside the office at the time. There were other officers around, Valdez said the sergeant assessed his team immediately. He later notified his supervisor. No students were in the vicinity.

"At no time was anyone in danger," Valdez said. "This was purely unintentional."

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The Manhattan district attorney's office is conducting a review of the case, which is standard practice. Bodycam footage was handed over to their investigators, the NYPD confirmed. That footage will not be released, which is in accordance with NYPD protocol for accidental discharges, officials said. There are about eight of those annually.

Three minor injuries were reported during the NYPD breach of Hamilton Hall, though the nature of those injuries wasn't made clear. Other protests nationwide, including at UCLA, have turned violent.

NYU encampment cleared

In a letter to the NYPD, New York University said protesters had been camped out on the Greene Street Walkway for nearly a week in violation of school policy.

"Their presence has created a continuing risk of violence due to the presence and behavior of hundreds of individuals not affiliated with NYU drawn to the encampment, including acts of vandalism," it read. "Incidences of violence have been encouraged and have occurred with greater frequency and intensity at other campuses in New York City and around the country, creating an unacceptable risk to our school community."

The NYPD did move in, and shortly after sunrise. NYU says most of the people there, around 30, chose to leave and were allowed to do so. About a dozen were arrested. Later, people were seen clearing emptied tents from the walkway.

"The process took about 20 minutes and involved minimal disruption and minimal confrontation," NYU said in a statement. "Conscious, as we were, of what has happened across the country when the police have been called in to address an encampment, the early morning was chosen to minimize the likelihood of injury or spread of disruption."  

“NYU requested the assistance of the NYPD because of the unwillingness of protesters—who were violating the University’s rules and the rules governing the walkway (an agreement we have with the city, which the protesters were violating)—to leave despite multiple requests and discussions; growing safety concerns, particularly with regard to protesters and counter-protesters being drawn to the site; numerous noise disruptions—including late at night—that far exceeded university rules. The encampment had become increasingly untenable for the NYU community and the neighborhood we inhabit," the statement continued. "This was not about the content of the protesters’ speech, but rather, about the nature of this protest, including the threat it posed to our community."

Classes proceeded as scheduled Friday at NYU. No injuries were reported there, or at a separate demonstration at The New School, where police also were called. The NYPD later said 43 people were arrested at The New School Protest. It wasn't immediately clear how many of them were affiliated with the university.

That was before further demonstrations outside NYU Friday afternoon. Protesters moved on from there in the evening, stopping at the New School before heading to Washington Square Park.

NYU's reference to "individuals not affiliated" reflects what has become a near-constant theme in letters from college administrations requesting police assistance across the country. Mayor Eric Adams had said outside influences co-opted protests at Columbia University and City College this week, hijacking the tone and shifting to dangerous tactics.

The organized use of tactics -- metal barricades, chained doors, for example -- is what prompted increased concern about the occupation of Columbia's Hamilton Hall Tuesday. More than 100 people were taken into custody during that NYPD raid, and another 170 were arrested at City College the same night. Those nearly 300 arrests represent a fraction of the more than 2,000 nationwide stemming from recent campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

Law enforcement sources told NBC New York more than 40% of those arrested at Columbia and City College had no affiliation with the schools — and several had known criminal records.

Police have swept through campuses across the U.S. over the last two and a half weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. In rare instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies. Here's how Columbia University became the driving force behind the national surge.

On Wednesday, officers also arrested more than a dozen people at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus after an encampment set up in the lobby. In New Jersey, pro-Palestinian protesters started taking down their tents Thursday afternoon after Rutgers imposed a deadline due to the protest interrupting final exams earlier in the day.

The university confirmed the protest area will be cleared for the rest of the semester.