LAPD detains two in campus shooting
Posted November 1, 2012 at 5:40 am in Crime, Featured, Halloween Shooting, News
The Los Angeles Police Department has detained two suspects following a shooting that injured four people near the Ronald Tutor Campus Center at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday, according to campus authorities.
Joseph Chen | Daily Trojan
Only one of the four victims is in critical condition and as of approximately 2 a.m. was undergoing surgery at California Hospital Medical Center, according to LAPD. Three others were injured and immediately transported to California Hospital as well. Neither the suspects, whom LAPD identified as approximately 19-years-old, nor the victims were affiliated with USC.Classes across the university are scheduled to continue as normal Thursday.
The shooting occurred about 100 yards from a Halloween costume party, “Freak or Greek,” which was held in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center’s ballroom. The event, which began at 9 p.m., was hosted by a USC student organization and LA Hype, a night life and entertainment group. The party drew a crowd of about 1,500, according to the Dept. of Public Safety.
“We were waiting outside to get into the party, and we were waiting for a while — maybe 20 or 30 minutes,” said Olivia Gordon, a freshman majoring in psychology. “And all of the sudden, as soon as people started going inside, there were multiple gunshots and everyone who was in line for the party ducked and we all ran.”
A confrontation occurred between two unidentified males, which led one to shoot the other, inadvertently injuring three others in the process, according to DPS Capt. David Carlisle. The intended victim was shot three to four times in the torso, according to LAPD Cmdr. Bob Green. The other three victims did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
“I heard three gunshots … there might have been more than that,” said Christina Nour, a freshman majoring in civil engineering building science. “Then I ducked. It didn’t feel real. It felt like it was a movie because I really haven’t experienced anything like this before. I was running as fast as I can, trying to make sure I didn’t get trampled or tripped. I just ran as fast as I could, as far as I could.”
Michael Jackson, vice president for student affairs, released a statement on the university’s website, saying DPS had been monitoring the area near the party. He also noted the importance of ensuring safety.
“This incident reminds us that we must look out for ourselves and be particularly vigilant about the personal safety of friends and guests at our social events,” Jackson said.
After the shooting, officers at the scene identified the shooter as well as an unidentified male who was fleeing the scene with him. Officers followed the two to Parking Lot 6 and detained them; they also retrieved the handgun used in the shooting from the ground at the lot.
DPS issued a Trojan Alert at 12:02 a.m. on Thursday, asking students to take “shelter in place and avoid opening doors for unknown persons.” DPS and LAPD also immediately cordoned off the area near the shooting, including from Bovard Auditorium to Mudd Hall and from the Campus Center to the eastern edge of Hahn Plaza. The entire University Park Campus was locked down soon after.
Despite the lockdown, LAPD said the event in the Campus Center continued even as the shooting and its aftermath unfolded outside.
“Music continued to play, and they continued to party,” Green said.
At approximately 2 a.m., DPS and LAPD opened the campus to students, faculty and staff with USC identification. The entire campus was reopened at 4:52 a.m.
Assistant DPS Chief John Thomas said that the incident was not indicative of the overall level of safety in and around USC.
“[USC has] a great partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department. We are one of the safest campuses in the country — we make sure that we have the necessary resources at the event, we do necessary planning and unfortunately [the shooting] happened outside,” he said. “These are individuals that unfortunately came here and decided to disrupt what otherwise would have been a very peaceful event, like all of our events on campus.”
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USC needs to stop allowing locals anywhere near campus. Throw political correctness aside. USC needs to accept the fact that South Central is a war zone and secure the campus appropriately.
USC needs to start spending more money on hiring campus police to help better patrol and protect campus. In my opinion USC is one of the top schools in the country in a great city. USC is not the only school in the country with students being shot. Virginia Tech has had two major shooting by a serial killer and Baylor a private college in the state of Texas had basketball players shot other people on campus. USC gets a bad rep because the campus is in the heart of LA but colleges all around the country have crime and shootings. USC does need to spend more money on hiring law enforcement officers. I have never had a problem on campus.
Crime and bullets have no name or address!! Just look at the movie theater shooting in a nice neighborhood in Colorado or all the high school shootings in nice neighborhoods. Crime does not only happen in the inner city but also in nice gang free places.
USC does not and never has employed campus police. The California State schools (i,e. CSUN, CSULA, Cal Poly Pomona) and University of California schools (i.e. UCLA, UC Berkeley) have campus police departments. USC, LMU, University of San Diego and other PRIVATE schools employ BSIS licensed security guards.
In California, private schools are prohibited from creating their own police police agency.
The simple solution is to follow the Stanford model and partner with Sheriff Leroy Baca who can deputize USC DPS staff and make them deputy sheriffs. When/if he authorizes that, USC DPS would have law enforcement authority. This model is already in use in Los Angeles County at the Community Colleges, see: http://www.lasdhq.org/lasd_services/contract_law/ccc_srv1.html.
The next time you see one of our DPS ‘officers’ think Securitas or Wakenhut. Just don’t fall for the myth they are police. Lower your expectations and welcome back to reality!
I am a new USC parent. I received a call from my son at midnight last night to let me know he was safe, but I did not sleep all night. I think the USC community should be given details and answers immediately. For starters, was this a gang/drug related situation? The news says Geno was the “intended victim.” Sounds like a gang hit.
Did a half hour lapse after the shooting before the students were warned by text to stay inside?
Who do we contact? Should we organize a meeting?
Hi Claire.
Below from Neon Tommy–a point of contact for you. Accountability is crucial:
“After numerous calls—and in-person requests—for comment to university officials, Vice President for Student Affairs Michael L. Jackson sent the media an email saying the following:
“…The event in question was approved as an exception to the university’s date and time requirements because no alcohol was to be served and to allow the student group to hold an event on Halloween.”
Hi Claire.
See my reference below regarding a USC contact for you.
Let’s be realistic here. University officials, DPS, and LAPD would not be able to immediately get those details to us, they would not know right away if this was gang/drug-related. They may have speculations of course, but they would not, and should not, say anything without confirmation of the facts. I think the details that they did give out were the most important ones, to let students know of the shooting, that a suspect had been apprehended, and most importantly, when the threat was over. I’m sure they are working on the other details and will let everyone know when they are confident every fact they have is correct. You wouldn’t want journalists reporting false speculation for the sake of appeasing people and “breaking” the news first, so why would you expect university officials to do so as well?
All I am suggesting is that students be alerted in a timely way there is an incident in the heart of campus that warrants taking measures to secure their safety. Once a shot is fired on campus and several are confirmed to be shot, there is not a need for any information other than “take cover”. Yes, it could have been gang related or a personal reprisal. No one knows at this point, but as of the shooting the possibility of reprisals or other responses providing danger to USC students could not be ruled out. Yet, students were unaware of any occurrence for 29 or more minutes. I am sure you and others can readily think of ways to inform students of a potentially dangerous in the heart of the campus in less that 29, or more for some, minutes.
We decided to block you…Meow!
I agree with David and others that blame the USC administration. A third party sponsors an on campus party that atracts 1500 persons inside and 500 others milling about outside waiting to get in. There were only 14 DPS officers assigned to the event.
Isn’t that already a recipe for disaster? Heads should roll.
Welcome to the jungle (aka Los Angeles). As I was typing my last post regarding the incident (my nephew is currently a student at SC), I hear helicopters and loud sirens outside our building (on mid-Wilshire). I look outside from the 25th floor and see cop cars, ambulances and news vans outside on Wilshire Blvd. Apparently, a girl was shot outside across the street from our building in front of a B/A. I pray that she makes it and that the gunman is apprehended. Its a crazy world we live in these days. TO EVERYONE PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND VIGILANT ALL THE TIME.
To add insult to injury – this afternoon at the corner of 30th and Orchard (a common location many students pass through, to and from campus) there were TWO LAPD officers staked out caddy-corner. Their primary function – stop the dangerous scourge to society known as the BICYCLIST that does not come to a complete stop at the stop sign. ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME!!!!!!! I saw one of these officers ticket a girl because she just rode her bike without coming to a full and complete stop at the stop sign. Again, SHE WAS ON A BICYCLE!!!!!! In this retarded city of LA, if you want to tag other people’s property and gun down four people in the middle of a campus where students pay an arm and a leg to attend – well then of course as the shooter you are the victim since obviously you come from a repressed society that caused you to be a criminal…however, if you pay outrageous taxes and tuition – well watch out because the LAPD still want to squeeze more money out of you for riding a bicycle like any other human being in any other city in this country. LA is run by retarded monkeys looking to turn it into a gang infested, third world welfare state. Parents, save your money and send your kids to UCLA. The chances of them not getting shot or raped is better and you will not be pumping money into the retarded City Council and Mayor who can only bang the race card drum and not be happy until LA becomes more like a third world barrio.
Ras,
The law even applies to pretty white girls on bikes
Nice rant, Ras. Was she also going the wrong way? Bicycle safety means that cyclists must also obey traffic rules. It’s for your own safety.
My point is I would rather police resources be spent going after gang banging thugs gunning ppl down instead of a chick on a bike. I will take my chances with the chick on the bike but I will not be so evenly matched with armed ghetto monkeys.
Check your facts and read this!
USC needs to start spending more money on hiring campus police to help better patrol and protect campus. In my opinion USC is one of the top schools in the country in a great city. USC is not the only school in the country with students being shot. Virginia Tech has had two major shooting by a serial killer and Baylor a private college in the state of Texas had basketball players shot other people on campus. USC gets a bad rep because the campus is in the heart of LA but colleges all around the country have crime and shootings. USC does need to spend more money on hiring law enforcement officers. I have never had a problem on campus.
Crime and bullets have no name or address!! Just look at the movie theater shooting in a nice neighborhood in Colorado or all the high school shootings in nice neighborhoods. Crime does not only happen in the inner city but also in nice gang free places.
The problem I see is that Campus Security are a bunch of wimps. Let LAPD have access to the inside of campus at least with LAPD no one and I repeat no one will try to mess with any of these cops. DPS is useless, they will not stop you they just collect their paychecks. THUGS, GANGBANGERS are not afraid of Campus Security, DPS or anything that pretends to be cops. LAPD is the solution to this problem. Give LAPD officers access to patrol the campos, have an LAPD substation 1/s block from campus. Thats it. No other solutions. Let LAPD be in charge.
I was in Leavey Library at the time of the shooting. For those of you who don’t know campus, it’s a stone’s throw away from VKC (where one of the victims was treated) and about a 3 minute walk from the Campus Center. We suddenly see the ambulances and fire trucks storm through McCarthy quad and know something is up. Of course, our generation immediately heads to Twitter to find the most up-to-date information. A shooting at Campus Center. The suspect has fled on foot.
29 minutes later we receive an alert (I received mine ten minutes later than a peer next to me.) “A shooting was reported in the area of the campus center. Shelter in place and avoid opening doors.”
Let me reiterate, 29 minutes later!
I could have walked, (or worse, the suspect at large) back and forth from the campus center to Leavey Library 10 times before I’d even be notified by the “Trojan Alert” system. Let’s take a frightening flashback to the Virginia Tech shooting of last year. 33 killed in a University Library.
Don’t you think USC/LAPD should have sent an officer to stand in front of the main library entrance?
Or how about give a short address on the PA loudspeaker ensuring our safety?
How about any instructions at all?
Nothing. Not a word. Not a security guard/DPS officer/LAPD officer in sight. In fact, I walked in and out of the library without my ID even being checked twice between 11-2am. I’m glad that they are using the PA system efficiently to make sure we secure our bikes to the racks, but not to tell us that we are safe inside and to stay put. Some students stayed while others left. At 2am, Twitter reports said the suspect was caught but the campus was still on “Lockdown.” I walked to my car and drove off without a DPS guard checking my ID, or even asking me pull down my window. Could the shooter/other members of his gang been in the car behind me fleeing? Who knows?
I’m not a complainer. In fact, I’ve never written on the Daily Trojan forum in 4 years here. But last night USC did not do its job of making me feel secure. They sent late vague text alerts, abandoned me and my peers with no direction, and lost a lot of my trust. Last week LAPD cited me $300 for Jaywalking. I think they should get their priorities in order…
My sympathies go out to the victims and I wish them a speedy recovery.
Let me reiterate. I love USC. I love the Trojan Family. I wouldn’t trade my decision to go here for all the money in the world. But last night, USC, you betrayed me. If only I was hungrier and wanted to grab a bite from one of the campus center eateries an hour before. If only.
The problem is see is that Campus Security or DPS or whatever you want to call those wimps are basically useless. Gangbangers and thugs are not scared a bit of these clowns. Let LAPD patrol the inside of campus, put a substation of LAPD inside campus. Believe me, security is useless they do not scare the enemy. But, LAPD will shut these clowns. Please Mr. Nikias pull the trigger and let LAPD PATROL THE INSIDE OF CAMPUS.
LAPD does patrol on the inside of campus…maybe you should actually visit once in a while
And when LAPD patrols the campus do violent crimes happen. My question is where there LAPD cops the night of this event? Outsiders are not scared of campus police or DPS because they know that their powers to arrest with force is limited. This is Los Angeles, not a college town in the midwest or some rural area. Career gang members and thugs know this. As a student the presence of campus security may scare you, but not gang bangers. To them campus offcers are just security guards. I have been to campus to visit my nephew and see locals skateboarding on campus. I can tell they don’t go to school at SC because they’re not even old enough to be on college. What do the campus police do? NOTHING.
USC does not have nor employ campus police. USC DPS are security guards licensed by BSIS. They are NOT police, have no authority off campus. If they were police, it would say so on their website and on their cars and uniforms. They would also be licensed by California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Do NOT take my word for it, simply do a Google search or take a look at their badges and cars.
BTW: what police officer do you know of that has to have a guard card, a baton card and a gun permit issued by BSIS?
When you see DPS, think security guard.
My daughter is a sophmore at USC and from the first day she moved on campus I noticed the lack of security particularly around the perimeter of campus and in the neighborhood off campus where the majority of USC students live. I also have a daughter who is a junior at the Univ of Penn (an Ivy) which is also located in an urban neighborhood like USC. The security presence on campus and blocks around UPenn is far superior to USC. As a parent, I know she is safe on and around campus.
USC MUST beef up security not only on campus but on the perimeter of campus and the blocks off campus where most students live. If security presence is highly visible, it would make anyone think twice about bringing a gun on campus regardless of what type of event is being held and who is attending. I certainly do not want this incident to be a poor reflection on the BSA and affect any future events of the BSA. THE PROBLEM IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE LACK OF SECURITY. AS A PARENT, I SPEND TOO MUCH IN FULL TUITION NOT TO FEEL SAFE!!!!
WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE? REALLY WHO IS IN CHARGE?
MR. NIKIAS LOVES THE SPOTLIGHT WHEN THINGS GO WELL BUT IN HARD TIMES HE DISAPPEARS. SOME ONE NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. WHO IS IT? DISGRACEFUL LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
A starting point for anyone wanting to inquire who was in charge: From Neon Tommy:
“After numerous calls—and in-person requests—for comment to university officials, Vice President for Student Affairs Michael L. Jackson sent the media an email saying the following:
“…The event in question was approved as an exception to the university’s date and time requirements because no alcohol was to be served and to allow the student group to hold an event on Halloween.”
To further exacerbate this matter, I can just see lawsuits against USC from the victims for this incident. WHO IS IN CHARGE?
I am a recent alumnus, and I still come to campus for events like conferences and public lectures. Obviously the university can’t shut all non-USC folks out of events like those on campus.
The security issue here seems to be that someone was able to bring a firearm into a crowded area. One can only assume that the gunman must have been extremely stupid, as he was immediately apprehended. The fact is that a stupid, impulsive person could do exactly this sort of thing at LA Live, or in Times Square, where they would just as likely be immediately apprehended.
As far as prevention goes, I suppose DPS could have set up a wider security perimeter and frisked everyone for guns. I’m sure this shooting could not have occurred within the venue. Or the event could have required advance online RSVPs, to discourage people from congregating outside, waiting to get in.
I don’t think there need to be any dramatic changes to university policies, other than more fuding for special security at large-scale event like this, to be paid for by the promoters. I mean, even Art Walk has to pay the LAPD for additional security.
Wow, what happened to the Trojan Family I keep hearing about. I see the true colors coming out and it’s not USC cardinal and gold.
Wow, what happened to the Trojan Family I keep hearing about. I see the true colors coming out and it’s not USC cardinal and gold.
wgh
University policy holds that no parties after 10pm may be held during the week. This is the rule they use to HAMMER the Row into submission. Row events are generally USC only and very exclusive! Why was another campus group allowed to have an open event on campus? The campus is profiling GREEKS when it should be after the thugs. Unbelievable!
Hush hush JG, the black groups have never been held to those rules. That’s only for the Row and those crazy white kids.
Columbia University is in Spanish Harlem, Yale in an economically disadvantaged part of New Haven, Connecticut. I have not read about violence on these campuses. As others have pointed out, perhaps we can learn from these top academic institutions since this is the echelon USC is broaching. I suggest the same administration diligence that has shepherded USC to a top 25 (or greater) academic institution be applied to the social/safety environment. Involve all stakeholders–administration, trustees. alums, students, parents, campus security and LAPD for a careful examination and initiate change where needed. Bottom line, what are the social needs and interests of the current student body and are they being safely served by social offerings at present. Safety, security and student health would seem to be priorities for all.
Judging from the the Playboy #2 rating and other media notoriety, a party school reputation exists for USC. Talking to some Greeks, the party reputation is a source of pride, to others, Greek and non-Greek, it is quite the opposite. I expect a party reputation, deserved or not, does influence who is attracted to the USC campus–both students and non-students.
It is not clear, yet, from all I have read, if this was a Greek/non-Greek, BSA/non-BSA or combination event. What does matter is USC allowed the event to occur. As others have pointed out, a Halloween, late night event, marketed as this one was should never have been approved. President Nikias needs to identify who did not exercise responsibility and there needs to be consequences. I agree the President Nikias “apology letter” falls far short of the mark and does little to assuage concerns of parents and alums. Perhaps there will soon me more to follow from the President’s Office.
Various posters have remarked they are no longer considering USC for their younger children and others transferring from USC. Most everyone seems to understand inherent risks in our society with guns permeating daily life. Yet, it seems some parents and others are left with the sense the social/health/safety environment at USC has not received the attention it requires–now requires urgently. I. for one, do not want to see USC lose all the benefit of the hard work to improve every aspect of its academic status to attract the best and brightest.
I can’t imagine students or parents feel the same sense of safety following this tragedy involving Tutor Center, the symbolic heart of USC. This can and should be a defining moment for all to focus on creating an unquestionably laudable aspect of student life equally important to academic excellence–excellence in the social/safety environment.
You want a good school in a bad neighborhood, try University of Chicago. Way worse than SC. 6 murders in surrounding area since January.
MR. NIKIAS, SECURE THIS CAMPUS, MY CHILD IS IN DANGER. I MAY JUST PULL HIM OUT!!!
Pull them out. The campus is safe, this is a random incident.
Who ever is responsible for security on our campus is an utter failure and needs to be replaced, and that would include the administration that oversees, or apparently neglects, security. This is absurd that all of this gun violence occurs on campus. WE NEED A CHANGE AT THE TOP!!!
I want a name – WHO ultimately authorized this party to take place? I want names
There are authorized on campus parties almost every day of the school year.