A Grand Valley State University student came across a stolen firearm Monday, April 20 in the woods behind Pine Living Center, according to the Grand Valley Department of Public Safety. Officers say no incident is connected to the discovered firearm.

Everett Smith was one of two students to discover the firearm. While he was hiking behind student housing, he met another student who made reference to a firearm found in the woods. According to Smith, the other student asked for a second pair of eyes on the discovered weapon.

“I followed him up the hill, we looked at the gun and sure enough, it was a real gun,” Smith said.

Smith described the weapon as a handgun with visible rust on the slide and no magazine. He said neither of them touched the gun before contacting GVPD. Officers responded to the scene, later returning with a K-9 unit to search the surrounding area. According to Smith, police inspected the weapon and placed it into evidence after confirming there was no round in the chamber.

Leah Heaton, assistant director of public safety and captain of GVPD, gave a statement regarding the incident.

“GVPD responded to a call for a gun that was found by a hiker in the ravines behind Pine Living Center,” said Heaton. “Officers recovered an empty handgun that appeared to have been in the woods for an extended period of time. The gun came back as stolen, and GVPD is working with the original jurisdiction on the recovery. There are no current incidents on campus in connection to the weapon.”

No GVSUAlert! notification was sent to the campus community; the case remains under investigation.