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Student discharges gun
Fourth-year College student David Renardy was charged with a felony for discharging a gun in his apartment on Chancellor Street Tuesday. The bullet hit the neighboring Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house. No one was harmed in the incident.
Charlottesville Police Lt. Ronnie Roberts said the bullet struck the house after passing through a window and continued out.
"It occurred [Tuesday] evening; we received a call at about 4:22 p.m. about an accidental discharge of a firearm in an apartment," Roberts said,
Roberts said this does not happen on a regular basis, and it was not illegal for Renardy to have the firearm in his off-Grounds home. In Albemarle County, it is legal to possess a firearm as long as the owner has a valid driver's license and undergoes a proper screening process.
"You can own and possess a firearm in Albemarle County," Roberts said, "[There is] no violation of the law in possessing a firearm in a home or apartment as long as you aren't a convicted felon."
Renardy did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment for this story.
-compiled by Callie Herod
Commentary
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Sean
(04/21/11 7:38pm)Report
Wow.
Nathan
(04/23/11 6:54pm)Report
So he was charged with a felony of an accidental discharge of a legally owned firearm?
Bay State Roller
(04/26/11 5:47pm)Report
In Lib City (Charlottesville), the burden will now be on Mr. Renardy to prove himself not guilty of something that is not a crime. Welcome to Obama's America.
Bubbalo
(04/28/11 12:37am)Report
What the writer is leaving out is the fact that in Virginia it is a felony to discharge a firearm in a building.
Discharge in or at a building within Virginia: Under the state code, it is illegal to discharge firearms or missiles within or at buildings or dwelling houses. If you maliciously discharge a firearm within or at any building when the building is occupied by one or more persons in such a manner as to endanger the life or lives of such persons, you are guilty of a Class 4 felony. If done unlawfully, but not maliciously, you are guilty of a Class 6 felony. If the building is a school, whether or not occupied, you are guilty of a Class 4 felony. (Va. Code § 18.2-279)
Anon
(04/28/11 1:13am)Report
Yes, it is a felony to discharge a firearm in a building. Just because it is a law doesn't mean it is right. Yes, the situation could have been potentially dangerous. Yes, if the student legally owns this fun, he should probably exercise better gun safety to prevent accidental discharge. However, the reality is that nobody was hurt, and it was an accidental. For something that ended up being so minor, it feels a little ridiculous that the student is being charged with a Class 6 felony that comes with a life-long effort to explain the incident as well as potential disenfranchisement, etc.