Update May, 2 4:08 p.m. – Li made his first appearance in court at 2 p.m. today. Li's next court date is scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 23.
Sophomore Kevin Li was arrested Wednesday morning for having a shotgun in his dorm. Court documents show that bond for Li was set at $20,000 and was released this morning.
According to North Carolina State law, this charge is a Class I felony for any person to knowingly carry and own a gun on any kind of educational property. The policy in the student handbook states the university strictly prohibits possession of any weapons on campus.
Li is from Raleigh, N.C., and had recently posted on Instagram about buying a shotgun on April 7. In the post, Li said, "I decided if I really had to use a gun to protect my life, I might as well get something extremely effective. If it's good enough for the marines, I guess it's good enough for me too!"
In an email Wednesday morning, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley said university officials and police were alerted by a concerned student through the students of concern website, which allows students to report suspicious or unsafe behavior.
Dooley indicated that campus police was able to make contact with Li and took the shotgun from his room. Court documents show Elon University police conducted the search just after 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. The student "was taken into custody without resistance or incident and has been charged with felony possession of a weapon on campus," Dooley wrote.
Elon University police and Elon town police have not released any information about the incident.
This incident occurred on the day after a gunman opened fire at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, killing two people and injuring four others.