Shot fired on Three Rivers campus attributed to poacher

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff Police say a report of a shot fired Saturday near Three Rivers College likely was a poacher because they found no evidence of a crime.

"We found no indication of shots being fired anywhere in the area between Shelby Road and the college," said Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley. "An educated guess is that somebody probably saw a deer, fired one shot from a small caliber handgun and left the area."

Students and faculty were not in any danger during what the chief described as "a nonthreatening event." A basketball game was underway at the time but was not disrupted.

Deputy Chief Jeff Rolland said if the department thought the students or faculty were at risk, the campus would have been placed on lockdown.

"We would have immediately locked the campus down. We would have sought assistance from the Butler County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol and would have conducted an intense investigation," Rowland said. "The evidence, at this point, presents a poaching rather than an act toward the college."

The area police investigated is a heavily wooded property with no school facilities.

"The investigation revealed that it was on Three Rivers property near the actual campus, but not near any activities," Rolland said.

Officer Joel Robinson was standing near Bess Activity Center at 7:44 p.m. Saturday when he saw a white car sitting on the bridge to the west exit of the college, according to campus police reports.

As he approached, he reported hearing what he thought to be a gunshot. He contacted Poplar Bluff police, according to the report.

Robinson returned to campus and talked to a witness who also was near the activity center. The witness told the officer the car was white and that someone in the vehicle shot into the woods.

Despite a search of the area, no shell casings, firearm or suspect was found.

"I am not aware of what [Robinson] saw, but it could very well be something else. The car could have been stopped, and it could have been somebody in close proximity that didn't have anything to do with the vehicle. We don't feel there was any kind of threat at all," Whiteley said.

"The Three Rivers officer is going to err on the side of caution to make sure it is investigated fully and there is no threat to the people on campus," Rowland said.

Surveillance footage showed the car coming onto campus from the north entrance and turning to the west exit toward Shelby Road.

A Butler County Sheriff's deputy was injured in a car accident while responding to the incident.