Kent police are continuing to investigate gunshots fired outside the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house early Sunday morning.
Police were told about a fight that broke out in the fraternity house which included “uninvited” guests. Shortly after the fight, approximately four gunshots were fired as they left, said Kent Police Lt. Mike Lewis.
Lewis said those shell casings were recovered and no vehicle or home damage was reported. No arrests were made.
This is an “isolated incident” due to the unexpected guests that are believed to not be from Kent, Lewis said.
In a statement released to KentWired Sunday night, TKE said a group of men from Akron were brought to TKE’s house by another fraternity, which was not identified in the statement.
“All fraternities have the same rules when it comes to who we let in for safety purposes, so we assumed they were cleared by the other fraternity,” TKE said.
TKE said the group of men, “endorsed by the other fraternity,” fought with another group in the basement. This prompted TKE to remove them. As TKE fraternity members were actively removing the group, someone mentioned that one of them had a weapon.
After the group left, one of the men fired gunshots while walking down University Drive. TKE responded by immediately locking down the house and leading party-goers to the basement and rooms of fraternity members in the house, according to the statement.
“We are very shaken up and could not be more grateful everyone is safe,” TKE said.
TKE said the fraternity is working with authorities to help identify the suspect and will provide information as needed.
“What happened that night was unacceptable and we will continue to work harder to improve the safety of our parties and our attendants, as it is our top priority,” TKE said.
This is an updating story.
Anthony Zacharyasz is managing editor. Contact him at [email protected].
Alton Northup is a campus editor. Contact him at [email protected].
