A warrant was issued Tuesday for the arrest of a University of Arkansas student who discharged a handgun Feb. 8in the building that houses the campus radio station in Fayetteville, said a Washington County prosecutor.
Matthew B. Williamson, 37, of Fayetteville, was chargedwith possession of a handgun on school property, which falls under Arkansas Code Annotated 5-73-119(c)(1).
The charge is a Class D felony punishable by up to sixyears in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, said Matt Durrett, deputy prosecutor for Washington County.
Durrett said Williamson injured his hand when he discharged the Taurus Judge revolver, which fired a .410-gauge shotgun shell. Durrett said he didn’t know Williamson’s condition as of Tuesday.
Wil-liamson didn’t return an e-mail seeking comment.
According to an affidavit for the arrest warrant, Williamson told Officer Gabriel Golden of the UA Police Department that he accidentally shot himself with a gun he had taken to work at KUAF-FM, 91.3. The radio station is on university property at 9 S. School Ave., a few blocks east of the main campus. Williamson was a work-study employee at the station.
Williamson told Golden he had planned to take the gun to a firing range after work, according to the affidavit. A witness said Williamson wanted to show him something.
“The suspect then pulled a handgun out of his backpack,” according to the affidavit. “The witness said while the suspect was squeezing the gun, it went off.”
The incident occurred about 12:30 p.m. in a break room at the radio station, said Lt. Matt Mills, a spokesman for campus police.
The gun contained one spent .410-gauge shell, two live .410-gauge shells and one live .45-caliber shell, according to the affidavit. The pistol was capable of firing both types of ammunition.
After the incident, Sgt. Benjamin Velasco of the UA Police Department interviewed Williamson at the hospital, and Williamson said “he had forgotten that the gun was inhis backpack,” according to the affidavit.
Kyle Kellams, news director at KUAF, said it was a “tragic situation.”
“You wish none of this had happened,” Kellams said. “He expressed an apology to us and wished it didn’t happen. No one here is happy about any of it.”
Kellams said Williamson hasn’t worked at the radio station since the incident. He said Williamson had mostly worked at the front desk.
A bill passed by the Arkansas Legislature will allow faculty and staff members to take guns to work on campus if the individual college’s governing board approves. House Bill 1243, sponsored by state Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, passed 70 to 11 in the House of Representatives and 31 to 4 in the Senate. It has gone to Gov. Mike Beebe’s office for his signature.
Durrett said that bill would have had no effect on the charge against Williamson.
“Even if that statute were in place at the time, it wouldn’t apply,” Durrett said.
Kelly Cantrell, a spokesman for the Washington County sheriff’s office, said Williamson was at the jail late Tuesday afternoon to turn himself in, but the warrant hadn’t been entered into the system yet.
“He said he heard about it on the radio,” Cantrell said. “We don’t have a warrant on him yet. We cannot serve a warrant we have not received. I don’t know where it is in the process, but it’s not here yet.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11 on 02/27/2013