The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Police Department responded to shots fired at Legacy Apartments on Feb. 12 at 3:59 p.m.

Colin Lofton, a UL Lafayette junior, was across the street in Girard Park with some friends during the time and recalled one popping sound that caught their attention. According to Colin, following the first sound, they heard approximately 10 shots as well as one bullet that sounded as if it was coming towards them from the Legacy Park Apartments.

“Everyone around just kind of froze. And probably after the seventh or eighth noise, everyone just started booking it for the cars. And at some point during it, we could hear just like a whizz go over us, like a stray bullet was coming, and it flew from Legacy,” Lofton said.
The UL Lafayette Police determined
the incident as an illegal use of weapons, according to a report sent to The Vermilion.
The police report stated, “A call was received in reference to a gun being discharged in the area of Girard Park
near Legacy Park Apartments. Officers responded to the area. Evidence was recovered. No injuries or damage to property was discovered or reported.”

There were no suspects reported.

Boyd Daniels, a sophomore majoring in marketing at UL Lafayette, described leaving the park as being hectic and difficult due to the amount of people at the park that day.
“Everybody was frantically trying to get out because it was like a full day, like the parking lot was full. So everybody’s trying to back out and get out, so I really couldn’t get out,” Daniels said.

Some students addressed their concern for the University’s lack of communication as far as sending an emergency alert or email at the time.

Kayla Billiot, a UL Lafayette sophomore, was studying in the park

during the time of the incident and mentioned the need for a shooter warning from the university.

According to Billiot, UL Lafayette Police should be patrolling campus or stationed at certain areas more often, and the university needed to let students know what was going on during an incident like this in order to keep everyone safe living in the apartment buildings.

“I don’t know why an active shooter warning was not sent out, but that was

never sent out,” Billiot said. “And half the people that live in Legacy probably don’t even know that there was a shooting. So that shows a huge safety issue right there.”

Although there were no reported injuries or property damage, students still viewed the incident as a horrific experience.

“I think that was the scariest part: knowing that like a bullet came over our heads and I don’t know how close it was,” Lofton said.