Background: Law enforcement vehicles park on the Kentucky State University campus after a shooting occurs on Dec. 9, 2025 (WBIR/YouTube). Inset left: Jacob Bard (Franklin County Regional Jail). Inset right: De'Jon Fox (GoFundMe).
A Kentucky father is accused of shooting and killing a college student at his son's university while he was there to help him move out because he was worried about his safety.
Jacob Bard, 48, has been charged with murder and first-degree assault, authorities say. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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On the afternoon of Dec. 9, Bard was on the Kentucky State University campus in Frankfort to see his son. According to the Frankfort Police Department, he was there to make sure his child was safe.
His son had been attacked on campus, and along with his wife, Bard went to the university's office of student affairs to report it, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, citing testimony from Bard's lawyer during a Tuesday court hearing. Campus police then escorted the parents to their son's dorm so they could help him move out.
According to Bard's lawyer, Mark Hall, they were "essentially attacked," with security footage and a video posted on social media showing people running, one of whom was holding a baseball bat, before Bard began shooting outside the residence hall. Two students were struck. One of them, 19-year-old De'Jon Fox, died.
The other student was taken to an area hospital in critical condition. He was reportedly stable as of Tuesday.
Bard was arrested and placed in the Franklin County Regional Jail. While his bond was initially set at $1 million, it was reduced to $100,000 on Tuesday.
It is unclear what led up to the alleged attack on Bard's son and why a confrontation occurred just before the shooting. However, Frankfort police detective Laura Marco said there was "bad blood" between Bard's son and a group of students.
"One [assault] has been stated to me multiple times, one specific instance," she said, per local CBS affiliate WKYT. "There were other attempted incidents where he was not assaulted."
Bard's lawyer said his client was acting in self-defense. "Mr. Bard went to Kentucky State University with a purpose and that purpose was to remove his children from an unsafe environment," Hall said.
The defendant had two sons who went to the school, with both of them on the baseball team, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. While a GoFundMe raised nearly $26,000 for Bard following his arrest, it was taken down because of the company's policy against "fundraisers for the legal defense of someone charged with a violent crime."
A GoFundMe was also posted for Fox — with this one not removed. It says his family and everyone who loved him were "devastated" by his death. It goes on: "His parents are now facing the kind of heartbreak no parent should ever have to endure, especially two weeks before Christmas — planning a funeral for their child and navigating a future without them."
