Coroner releases identity of Kentucky State University student killed in shooting

Christopher Leach, Lexington Herald-Leader on Dec 10, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Franklin County Coroner’s Office has identified the Kentucky State University student who died in an on-campus shooting Tuesday as a 19-year-old from Indiana.

Coroner Will Harrod said Wednesday morning De’Jon Fox Jr., 19, was killed in the Tuesday shooting police have called an “isolated incident.” Fox was a student at the university and an Indianapolis resident.

Fox and another student were shot on KSU’s campus around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday.

Harrod said Fox was pronounced dead at Frankfort Regional Medical Center at 4:33 p.m. A post-mortem exam was performed Wednesday morning.

The other student was flown to University of Kentucky Hospital in critical condition, according to court documents.

Jacob Bard, 48, of Evansville, Indiana, was arrested and charged with murder and first-degree assault immediately following the incident. He is not a KSU student.

Bard’s arrest citation says he was allegedly in a fight and shot the two victims. The university said the incident happened “in Whitney M. Young Hall, a residence hall on the south side of campus.”

Bard is being held at the Franklin County Regional Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin District Court Thursday, according to court records.

KSU suspended all classes, final exams and other campus activities for the rest of the week and said students could go home if they wished.

“Today indeed was a senseless tragedy. We are mourning the loss of one of our students,” KSU President Koffi Akakpo said at the news conference Tuesday night. “As a parent, I cannot imagine receiving the call I placed today to the parents.

Frankfort police said they are continuing to investigate and asked anyone with information to contact them.

This is the second time a shooting was reported on the campus in recent months. Two people were injured in August, when individuals in a car opened fire on a group near Young Hall. Neither of the victims was a student or employee of the university, officials said.