The Iowa State Marching Band was allegedly shot at with water balloons and an air rifle by Union Drive residents last night, officials said.

The ISU Department of Public Safety reported that an air rifle was discharged from a Woodrow House window in Helser Hall. The shot was apparently directed at band members as they walked by the hall after practice. A bass drum was damaged, but no one was injured, DPS Lt. Steve Hasstedt said.

Joe Christensen, director of the music department’s band division, said the shot from the air rifle destroyed the head of a bass drum. It will cost about $30 to replace, he said.

As the band members walked by Friley Hall, water balloons were lobbed at them from a Lincoln House window. The balloons hit a band member and a tuba, Hasstedt said.

Christensen said he was “very concerned about the issue,” and called the campus police immediately upon hearing of the incidents.

“This is very dangerous. The B.B. could punch out someone’s eye very easily,” Christensen said. “A water cannon shot at someone unexpectedly can injure someone. The students were out in very cold weather, and it was dark. I don’t think those are the kinds of students we want at the university.”

Residence hall authorities are working with DPS in the investigation.

Mary Tandia, a residence life coordinator in UDA, said the residence officials take the incidents seriously. She said the incidents involve the illegal removal of window screens and use of objects as weapons.

“Any device that is potentially dangerous is prohibited in the residence halls,” Tandia said. The policy includes B.B. guns or anything that is used as a weapon.

Possible sanctions range from a warning to removing those responsible from the residence halls, Tandia said. Matt Lux, Woodrow House resident assistant, said DPS officers questioned residents of three rooms on the north side of his house. People from the band said they knew which room the shots came from, he said.

“The investigation is still going on,” Lux said. “As far as I’ve been told, no charges have been brought against anyone.”

Bev Uhlenhake, a hall director in Friley, said DPS spoke to Brad Karsjens, the resident assistant on Lincoln House. She said band members identified a room when they saw some residents putting a screen back into a window. Lux added, “An angry mob of band members came in after the incident. They were very perturbed.” Neel Majumber, a member of the drumline, questioned the motives of those responsible.

“It’s really brainless,” he said.

Jeremy Maus, another marching band member, agreed.

“It’s not something I want to see happen,” he said. “It’s not very nice.”