Shots Fired on USF Campus, Student Arrested

A 21-year-old University of South Florida student faces criminal charges after police say he fired off a gun on the Tampa campus. While no one was injured, the outside of a residence hall was struck.

According to the University of South Florida Police Department, officers received a call about shots fired around 4 a.m. Sunday. When officers responded to the Crescent Hill parking garage, they found no one in the area. A search of the garage, however, turned up a parked vehicle that contained an open gun case and a box of ammunition in plain sight, an email from the department to media stated.

“Spent shell casings were located on the ground adjacent to the vehicle where it appeared that several random shots were fired from a handgun, striking the exterior of the Holly D residence hall,” the email said.

The vehicle’s owner, Benjamin Knox of DeLand, was tracked down to his room in the residence halls. Knox was brought into custody and police recovered the handgun they believe was used in the incident.

Knox was being booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on possession or discharge of a firearm on campus and shooting into an occupied dwelling charges Sunday afternoon, the email said.

No one was injured during the shooting incident, police noted.

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