The Mississippi State University student taken into custody last month during an active shooter scare on campus will be allowed to return to the school in the spring 2016 semester, according to the student’s attorney.
Phu-Qui Cong “Bill” Nguyen, 20, of Madison, was suspended from MSU after authorities detained him on Aug. 27. On that day, the university issued an “active shooter” alert and law enforcement agents locked down the campus, scouring the Drill Field for an armed suspect. Authorities said an unarmed Nguyen was detained without incident about 10 minutes later. No injuries directly linked to the threat were reported. No shots were ever fired.
MSU released a statement that afternoon saying Nguyen would face charges of disorderly conduct. However, authorities later decided not to pursue charges because of lack of evidence.
That same day, Nguyen received a notice from MSU, informing him that because he was “involved in an incident for disorderly conduct, which is a violation of the code of student conduct,” he was immediately suspended from the university. The notice banned him from campus. It also told him that if he was found on campus without MSU permission, he could be arrested for trespassing.
Charles Yoste, a Starkville attorney representing Nguyen, said the university has decided to allow his client to re-enroll.
MSU officials, when contacted Thursday afternoon by The Dispatch, declined to comment.
Yoste sent a letter to MSU officials one week ago, asking that some of Nguyen’s belongings still in the possession of the MSU Police Department — a laptop, cell phone, camcorder and watch — be returned and that Nguyen be allowed to re-enroll.
Yoste told The Dispatch on Thursday that the university’s decision to allow his client to re-enroll was a good thing. Nguyen, the attorney previously said, was “suffering” because of the situation.
“I got everything I asked for,” Yoste said. “As far as I’m concerned, this will put an end to the matter.”
The situation began on Aug. 27 while Nguyen was on the phone with a military recruiter in the Jackson area when the recruiter became concerned that Nguyen was considering suicide. The recruiter directed a co-worker to call MSU, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol was also called and told the university Nguyen was threatening to shoot others, according to a transcript of the call released by MSU.
Last week, Yoste told The Dispatch that Nguyen has “never been charged with anything anywhere or any time, including this incident.”
“Somebody miscommunicated about threats on the campus and a shooter and now Bill is suffering for it,” he said.
Nguyen was studying computer engineering at the time he was detained.
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