The bullet casings discovered on Carleton campus had been shot from a gun at some point, according to director of university safety Len Boudreault. However, there is no evidence that a gun was fired on campus.
“If a weapon was discharged it would be very apparent,” said Insp. Chris Renwick of the Ottawa Police Service, who has taken over the case. “Someone would have heard it.”
There were no bullet holes or spent projectiles, and no reports of gunshots, Renwick said.
Seven casings were found on Sept. 16 in stairwell B of the Unicentre by two Charlatan staff members. Jesse Canavore, a Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) employee, told the Charlatan three more were discovered in stairwell D and brought to the CUSA office. Another casing turned into the department of safety had been found in the Tory Building.
The casings measured nine millimeters in diameter and were bronze in colour. Neither Boudreault nor Renwick could confirm the caliber of the bullet or the type of gun from which they had been fired.
Renwick said “there could be a thousand reasons,” why spent bullet casings may have been discarded. Possession of a spent casing is not a criminal offence, and police are not treating the incident as a criminal investigation.
“We will continue to solicit information from the [Carleton] community,” Boudreault said.
The department of university safety is asking anyone with information to come forward.