Charges filed against fraternity members for cannon blast

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Two members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity have been charged in a cannon explosion that blew out the window of a second-story apartment and sent a piece of the cannon through its roof.

Seth R. Fagan, the president of the chapter's fraternity, and Daniel B. Dunn, both 21 and students at the University of Missouri-Columbia, were charged on Monday with reckless exploding and third-degree assault, both misdemeanors.

Police said the cannon exploded when the two men were loading it with fireworks.

An 8-inch piece of the metal cannon, which legend dates to the Civil War, crashed through the roof of the nearby apartment building, tearing through the fifth floor before landing on a pingpong table in the lounge on the fourth floor. No one was hurt.

Fagan told police that he shot the cannon. He said firing the cannon was a tradition of the fraternity, according to court documents.

The national Kappa Alpha Order has suspended the chapter from all activities, pending the outcome of an investigation.

Mary Jo Banken, a spokeswoman for the university, said Fagan, Dunn and another member of Kappa Alpha have been suspended from the fraternity. A decision on whether to suspend them from school will depend on the results of the school investigation, she said.