Non-USC male shot near USC early Saturday
A non-USC man in his 20s was shot in the stomach in a drive-by shooting near the corner of 29th and Hoover Streets early Saturday morning.
The victim was shot outside of a private party at 1162 W. 29th St. around 12:30 a.m. He ran down 29th before collapsing in front of Regent Apartments, a USC-owned housing complex. Dept. of Public Safety and LAPD officers responded immediately.
Louis Wright, a resident of 1162 W. 29th St., confirmed there was a party being held at the house at the time of the incident.
Wright said he had turned several people away from the party in the minutes leading up to the shooting.
“There was a party going on and people couldn’t get in because they were too intoxicated,” Wright said. “We turned them away, and then there were some shots.”
Some students who had been at a nearby party on 29th said they had heard an argument outside just before they heard the gunshots.
Erica Dolcini, a senior majoring in policy, planning and development, said the argument prompted her and others at the party to call DPS. While they were on the phone with DPS they heard the sound of shots being fired.
“It’s kind of terrifying because it’s one of those moments where you just don’t know how quickly they were going to respond,” Dolcini said, adding that everyone in the house moved away from the windows as soon as they heard the gunshots.
Students who were in the area at the time reported hearing several gunshots in quick succession — most students said they heard between four and six shots.
Jacob Copman, a sophomore majoring in international relations and chemical engineering who was on the corner of 29th and Orchard Avenue at the time of the shooting, said he heard six gunshots and saw six LAPD officers rush to the scene within seconds.
Most officers had left the scene by 1:30 a.m.
DPS never issued a Trojans Alert about the shooting, a decision that upset many students.
“The fact that no one bothered to maybe alert me or assure me that everything would be alright I think is completely unacceptable,” said Ryan Morris, a sophomore majoring in business administration who lives in Sunset Apartments on 29th, in the same block where the shooting occurred.
“I understand that we live in an urban environment and I chose to come to USC knowing that, but it almost seems as if they were trying to conceal it by not informing students.”
DPS Capt. David Carlisle said DPS chose not to send the Trojans Alert because there was no USC involvement in the incident.
“It appears that someone was specifically targeted, and at this point it didn’t appear that anyone from USC would have been an intended target, which is why the Trojan Alert didn’t go out,” Carlisle said. “It was not considered to be an ongoing threat.”
Some students, however, said that because many students live on 29th or walk by that area, DPS should have alerted the USC community to what had happened.
“Probably 99 percent of residents on 29th Street are students, so to state that students were not involved is not responsible,” Morris said.
Additionally, students who heard the gunshots go off said they would have appreciated knowing if it was safe to go outside.
“While it may not have been an ongoing threat, if they don’t tell us that, we don’t know,” said Meg Manning, a junior majoring in cinematic arts-critical studies. “If students see police cars and streets blocked off it allows our imaginations to run wild and cause more panic than letting us know the reality of the situation. I think not informing students causes panic.”
The victim was transported to the hospital and is currently in stable condition, according to an LAPD spokesperson.
No arrests have been made in the case. The incident has been classified as non-gang related.
Lauren March contributed to this report.
Its all about USC image and keeping that overpriced tuition money rolling in.
There are so many things wrong with this situation, it’s infuriating.
Shame on DPS if they think for even a second that they were justified in not issuing an alert following the incident. It didn’t appear that anyone from USC was an intended target? What, do we wait until a USC student gets attacked before we act concerned? (Maybe some of you will recall when a student was stabbed and killed two years ago in the same vicinity — seems DPS has forgotten). So the shooting wasn’t on campus- but that doesn’t get DPS off the hook if they really are serving their purpose: “the primary goal of DPS is to provide a safe and secure environment in which the social and academic endeavors of the University community may be fully realized” (USC CAPS Website). As a student who lives in this area, I’m enraged that DPS will make it a routine to come and trespass onto our house’s private property (i.e. not owned or managed by USC whatsoever) to shut down our party over “noise complaints”, writing kids up for being disorderly (again, not on USC property, but on private property); and that they will send out an abundance of Trojan Alerts telling me that electricity in select campus buildings will be shut off for a few hours over the weekend, but when when there’s a risk of violence and USC students are in fear of their safety, no one hears a peep from them. The least they could’ve done was sent a message letting students know when the situation was safe and under control. No USC involvement my left foot– there is no excuse for failing to perform one’s duty. Have no doubts about it, DPS, you failed.
I’d feel safer if students would put together a voluntary patrol organization and walk a beat themselves.
Enraged.? I believe DPS does a good job. Managing this many students can’t be easy, ever watch the tv show Campus PD? College students are not always known for making high IQ choices, ask the locals they are amazed by the students behavior.
Im angry at the criminals not the police or DPS. Maybe u should do a ride along with them on a busy night, u might learn a few things.
I totally agree. As a concerned parent, it is frightening to think our children could have been placed in danger. What is the purpose of Trojan Alert if not to be used in situations like this? Hopefully more parents and students will express their concerns.
I agree. My daughter lived at 29th and Elenadale for 2 years, and it concerns me that no one in DPS would have notified the neighboring students that there was a problem…….. Aren’t you responsible for the safety of the students? Or is that just lip sergvice?