Student caught with loaded gun in Wharton class

Police fine 9-mm semiautomatic A student armed with a loaded 9-mm semiautomatic pistol was arrested by University Police yesterday as he was attending evening classes in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, University Police Sergeant Tom Rambo said last night. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich confirmed today that Wharton evening student Douglas Murphy was arrested by University Police. And University Police Sergeant Larry Salotti said early this morning that the student has not yet been arraigned. Rambo said the incident began when a student, who claimed he had been previously assaulted by Murphy, called University Police at about 7:51 p.m. after he was told by another classmate that the Murphy had a gun in class. University Police responded to the call and questioned Murphy about the incident, in which he allegedly assaulted the student two weeks ago. Subsequently, when University Police searched Murphy, they found the loaded gun in his jacket, Rambo said. Murphy was then transferred to Philadelphia Police Southwest Detectives for investigation. Although Murphy was carrying the gun, Rambo said that it appeared the gun was not registered to the suspect. Kuprevich said that the Vice Provost for University Life has been notified about the incident and will be making disciplinary decisions in the "near future." He added that there has not been a similar incident in his four years at the University. According to the University's Policies and Procedures, "the possession of dangerous articles (such as firearms, explosive materials, etc.) on University property" is prohibited. A student in the class, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a "disagreement" during a presentation before the class led to the alleged assault two weeks ago. He said Murphy thought the victim was attempting to sabotage his presentation by removing transparencies and turning off the overhead projector before Murphy had finished with his speech. After class, the student said Murphy reportedly struck the victim and knocked him to the ground three times. Rambo confirmed that the victim filed a complaint with Philadelphia Police, however he did not report the incident to University Police. Even though the student was shocked when he saw University Police officers remove a gun from Murphy's jacket, he said expected a second confrontation. "If there are any two students who would conflict with one another, it was these two," the anonymous student added. This incident comes on the heels of a student threatening two other students with a loaded shotgun last month at 39th and Pine streets. The shotgun-wielding student was placed on an involuntary leave of absence two weeks ago by VPUL.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.