A police officer fired his gun on the Columbia University campus while clearing pro-Palestinian protesters from a building on Tuesday, which according to the New York Police Department was an ‘accidental event.’

No one was injured, and the bullet was found in a nearby wall.

Police arrested 112 protesters this week after college leaders sought help clearing the Manhattan campus - a move that fractured the school community.

The NYPD held a press conference on Friday to address the issue, following days of criticism for not announcing the incident when it happened three days prior, reports BBC.

"Accidental discharges happen every single year and we average about eight a year and we don't get request [for information] on it," NYPD spokesperson Sergeant Tarik Sheppard said.

"If you do ask about it, we'll talk about it like we're doing right now."

The NYPD said in a statement on Thursday night that an unnamed Emergency Service Unit officer was using a firearm's flashlight attachment to illuminate a barricade inside Hamilton Hall, which protesters occupied after being ordered to disperse.

An officer fired a single shot into a wall a few feet away. The NYPD said it immediately investigated the incident and determined it was an accidental discharge. No student was near the area when the shot was fired, officials said.

The police force did not publicly disclose the gunshot or its internal probe, however, until The City, a local news organisation, reported the matter.

The officer's body camera captured the shooting, and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office was given the footage for its Police Accountability Unit to review.

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called the NYPD to the campus Tuesday to clear Hamilton Hall, a school building that protesters occupied on Monday night. It was the second time Ms Shafik had police on campus in response to the pro-Palestinian encampment.

Students and faculty will have very limited access to the campus for the remainder of the year, just weeks before the semester's end. The university announced that all final exams would be held online.

Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque