WASHINGTON — Five people were hurt Tuesday night in a shooting at Morgan State University in Baltimore, and now D.C.'s American University says it's looking at possibly arming on-campus police.
On Wednesday, the university sent a letter to students and faculty which outlines their safety plan and presented a possible safety plan for the future. Currently, on-campus police officers are trained in de-escalation and carry less lethal options, but after the mass shooting at the historically Black university they are considering changes.
"Sadly, just last night a shooting incident occurred at Morgan State University, a historically Black university in Baltimore," Bronté Burleigh-Jones, CFO, Vice President, and Treasurer at AU said. "Thankfully, none of the injuries appear life-threatening. We offer our support to the Morgan State community. It reminds us that our work to protect the AU community is of the highest importance."
The university said they periodically assess their safety procedures and this fall they will conduct thorough community engagement to educate about their approach, but also review possible updates. One of several questions they will explore is if on-campus officers should be armed with lethal force weapons.
When making this decision, some things that are being considered are their current approach of unarmed campus police, issuing firearms to officers and supervisors, staging firearms in vehicles for threat situations, or introducing less-than-lethal options that could be used in situations involving armed intruders.
Currently, no decision has been made and it has not been determined that their overall safety approach needs to change.
George Washington University, another university in the District, recently made the decision to arm two officers, with plans to arm four more. This decision caused pushback from the community, even sparking protests.
"I believe that arming GWPD will only serve to make the community more dangerous, particularly for Black and brown students and the broader community that calls Foggy Bottom home," Keigan Mccallagh, a George Washington University student said while at a protest.
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