On March 23, the ISU Police Division was informed that a weapon had been discovered in a Willow Hall room. Officers responded and recovered a pellet gun that was hidden inside a pair of gloves. The item was seized as evidence and will be transported to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation crime laboratory in Ankeny for forensic examination.
Police believe the pellet gun bears a strong resemblance to the semi-automatic handgun which was reportedly displayed during the early morning of March 16.
Following that initial report, several extensive searches of common areas in and around the Maple-Willow-Larch complex were conducted, to include hallways, dens, bathrooms, toilets, trash receptacles, ceilings, rooftops, elevator shafts and landscaping areas. The room where the weapon was recovered had also been searched by officers after consent had been received from one of the room's residents.
After the searches did not recover a weapon, police urged anyone finding a firearm, or pieces of a firearm, to not handle it, but immediately call police.
Several charges were filed against Jawon Jackson on March 16 based upon initial eyewitness accounts; however, they were subsequently dismissed after additional evidence had not been uncovered. The investigation is continuing.