Grand jury declines to indict man in shooting that killed teen at Kentucky State University

[Zorro]

The father of two Kentucky State University students had been charged with murder in an on-campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.

A grand jury has declined to indict the father of two Kentucky State University students who was charged with murder in an on-campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.

In a social media post after the Tuesday hearing, defense attorney Scott Danks said grand jurors decided not to indict his client, Jacob Lee Bard, for the Dec. 9 shooting and he is out of jail. In a previous statement sent to news outlets, Bard’s attorneys have said that 20 to 30 people had gathered to attack his son and family, and that he was justified in shooting two people who were beating his son.

After the grand jury decision, Kentucky State officials said they “will cooperate with law enforcement and investigators as appropriate” and are focused on student safety and well-being.

Bard’s attorneys say the family was moving their younger son out, with two armed campus police officers present, after withdrawing both sons from school because of “multiple armed, violent” incidents against them and other students in the days leading up to Dec. 9, some captured on security cameras.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/12/24/kentucky-state-shooting/

[marble falls]

1. nonfirewall link ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/grand-jury-declines-indict-man-kentucky-state-university-shooting-rcna250895

[OldBaldy1701E]

2. Does anyone know why they were attacking the son in the first place?

Maybe I missed it in the article.

[marble falls]

3. His younger son living in the dorm reported being robbed, which lead to attacks from other people ...

... when the dad went to get his sons off campus they were attacked by a crowd of twenty or more. When they started banging the younger son's head on the concrete, dad shot two attackers, killing one.

The link I provided has the whole story.

[Karma13612]

6. Just awful.These two students

were just trying to move out of the dorm after being bullied and harrassed relentlessly after they had reported the robbery.

Keep in mind that on moving day, even campus security was there. Didn’t make a difference. These nasty boys started attacking the two sons as they were just trying to get out of the dangerous situation.

Truly sad.

[marble falls]

7. Truly sad.

[niyad]

31. There is no indication that the vicious thugs were minors.

[lostincalifornia]

9. Here is the excerpt from your link

"Bard's attorneys say the family was moving their younger son out, with two armed campus police officers present, after withdrawing both sons from school because of "multiple armed, violent" incidents against them and other students in the days leading up to Dec. 9, some captured on security cameras.

When the family and an officer reached the dormitory entrance on the move-out day, the group of people in masks and hoods rushed out and began violently assaulting the family and others, including beating the son's head against the pavement, the attorneys said.

In October, the younger son reported a burglary in his dorm room to campus police and received threats of violence afterward, the attorneys said."

[marble falls]

13. So what did I miss??

[lostincalifornia]

15. Nothing, I didn't see your post when I was typing.

[rollin74]

25. this shooting sounds justified

the dad is a hero

[Joinfortmill]

4. As far as I can tell that is not being reported. Very strange.

Last edited Fri Dec 26, 2025, 10:58 AM - Edit history (1)

[marble falls]

10. Not so strange. Full story below ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/grand-jury-declines-indict-man-kentucky-state-university-shooting-rcna250895

[Joinfortmill]

28. Thanks much for the link.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

22. apparently a group of students have been engaged in gang like behavior at the university

i read on another site.

[Greg_In_SF]

5. Sounds like

a good shoot to me.

[marble falls]

8. There are no good shoots. Only justified and unjustified shoots.

[Greg_In_SF]

12. I stand

by my statement.

[lostincalifornia]

11. Kentucky State University better expell those violent perpetrators, and those perpetrators need to be indicted.

[marble falls]

16. There has been a problem with non student gang activity on campus. Further investigation is no doubt being made.

[aeromanKC]

14. Too bad the Dad only got one.

[Greg_In_SF]

17. Indeed!

[dalton99a]

18. Good. They need to expel the real criminals.

[rollin74]

19. I'm not sure why the dad was charged in the first place

violent criminals were attacking his son

dad did the right thing

[Frasier Balzov]

20. FAFO at an HBCU

I hate stories which seem to imply that guns and ammunition in the hands of the public are in any way positive whatsoever.

[Greg_In_SF]

26. And yet

it resulted in a positive outcome in this case.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

27. In this case it was, the campus police, for whatever reason,

didn't take action to stop the beating his son was taking, so the dad did what any father would do, he protected his son and stopped the beating.

Carrying a firearm is a huge responsibility that comes with consequences, even when used lawfully, as seems to be in this case.

Glad the Grand Jury refused to indict him, but he's still probably out thousands of dollars on attorney fees and he'll have to live the rest of his life knowing that he took another human beings life, despite the fact that it was, IMHO, a justified use of deadly force.

[Historic NY]

21. The attackers weren't even detered by the armed campus police officers...

tell me a lot about the school and safety.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

24. And why didn't the armed campus police use their tasers or pepperspray against them?

So, if I'm reading the article right, either the cops were stopped by the thugs, or they just stood there forcing the dad to draw his weapon and shoot those 2 criminals.

[marble falls]

29. May have, but they were two against twenty or more. Police don't fire randomly into crowds in an area that has ...

... hundreds in dorms and classroom and walking the campus. The right number of them got shot, no more were needed.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

30. Ok, that makes sense.

It's sad that one lost their life and another was wounded, but they should have never resorted to violence.

[OhioTim]

32. I Used To Live Near

the campus. It can be a dangerous place.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

23. Unless some other evidence comes forward disputing the known facts so far,

this sounds like a clear case of justifiable self defense to me.

[markodochartaigh]

33. It sounds to me like the real story here

is the failure of university administration and security to keep their campus safe.

[Bayard]

34. Attackers in masks and hoods.....

I'm guessing this was KKK attacking black students. Probably not even students at the school.