Naked shooter jailed for attempted murder

The naked IU student who police say shot 32 rounds from a 9mm semi-automatic handgun at a house, parked cars and police officers in a neighborhood north of the IU campus was released Tuesday from IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

He had received surgery there after being shot twice in the legs by police.

Following his release from the hospital, 21-year-old Corey Joseph Hamersley was booked into the Monroe County Jail at about 12:32 p.m. Tuesday and faces preliminary charges of attempted murder, criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.

He currently remains in jail with a $500,000 surety bond or $5,000 cash bond.

At about 7 a.m. Friday, police responded to a call from a resident in the 300 block of East 15th Street reporting that a man was shooting a gun into the back door of their residence.

When police arrived, Hamersley was allegedly ordered to drop the gun but continued waving the weapon around, according to a release by BPD Cpt. Joe Qualters.
When Hamersley did not obey orders by police and allegedly shot at one of the officers,

Qualters said police shot him in the legs, secured the weapon and took the student into custody after a brief struggle.

Hamersley sustained injuries to each of his legs from gunshot wounds, but no officers or bystanders were shot.

While in the hospital, Hamersley was under 24-hour guard by police from the time he was taken there for his injuries until he was released, Qualters said in a press release.
During an interview at the hospital, Hamersley allegedly acknowledged the encounter with police and was capable of identifying that he was shooting at officers because of their uniforms.

“He indicated that he thought about how ‘cool’ it would be to say he shot a cop,” Qualters said in the release. “He also acknowledged pointing a loaded weapon at the first officer, pulling the trigger and trying to shoot the officer in the chest.”

After obtaining a search warrant at Hamersley’s residence, police found LSD, hashish, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, which were seized from his bedroom, Qualters said.

Mark Land, associate vice president of university communications, confirmed that Hamersley is an IU junior studying exercise science. In fall 2009 and spring 2010, Hamersley was recognized as a University Division Scholar of Highest Distinction for having a grade point average between 3.9 and 4.0, according to the IU website.

Although never charged as a violent criminal, Monroe County Circuit Court records show Hamersley was charged for possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia in August 2010.

Land said Hamersley is still enrolled at IU.

“This was a matter for the prosecutor’s office and the Bloomington PD to handle first and foremost,” Land said.

Land said the University will not decide on whether to pursue disciplinary action against Hamersley until after he is tried in court.

During the incident, Land said the University did not issue an alert to students because the shooting happened so quickly. When IUPD officers arrived about 10 minutes after officers from the BPD, Land said Hamersley was already detained.

Because the University’s alert system is designed to warn students of ongoing threats to people on campus, Land said issuing an alert would only have scared people.

The two officers who shot Hamersley, whose names have not been released by police, are currently on administrative leave until an internal investigation is complete.

Qualters said the findings of the internal investigation should be available in the next few days.