Attention turns to campus safety and security after homicide at University of Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. Feb 23 2021 Students returned to campus Monday feeling a little uneasy after a University of Arizona student was shot and killed on campus over the weekend.
The school said Forrest Beckett Keys was shot during an incident at the Cherry Avenue Garage and it is being investigated as a homicide.
The attention is now turning to campus safety, and what can be done to prevent another tragic death like this.
“You can tell everyone feels a little uneasy today,” said senior Tara Garcia, who stopped by at Keys’ memorial site. “It shocked me that something so awful could happen. A lot of people are kind of feeling shook and wanting some change. I know there’s a petition going around saying that people want security cameras in the garage, so people do want action and want to see some change,” said Garcia.
The petition she’s referring too was made by another UArizona student and gained more than 8 thousand signatures. It asked the University to put surveillance cameras in all the levels of parking garages, not just at the entrance.
The creator ended up closing the petition but despite that, it’s brought up the question of what is being done on campus?
“We want to reassure folks that campus security and safety is our number one priority,” said UA Chief of Police Brian Seastone.
We asked the University of Arizona about any talks about adding more cameras. We received the following response:
“While we believe this is an isolated incident, UAPD has increased visible patrols on campus as a precautionary measure. We have cameras across campus, some of which are more prominent and conspicuous, and others less so. For security reasons, we don’t reveal the locations of these cameras. Moreover, we are consistently evaluating our security protocols involving the use of cameras, while being sensitive to the privacy concerns of our campus community.”
In the meantime, more police officers will be out especially with the state-run vaccine pod a few steps away.
“We have officers who are working that-the pod and have been since day one. We’ll also have increased patrols on campus and in that area,” said Seastone.
Despite the focus on security and what can be done next, the loss of Keys is not lost among the students and those who stopped by to pay their respects.
Even if they didn’t know him, it’s a way to wish their fellow Wildcat a final goodbye.
“We’re all a family so you got to support as much as you can,” said Garcia.
KOLD News 13
