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Monday, April 16, 2007 12:00 AM

University officials waited two hours to warn campus, students say

With at least 33 dead and 29 wounded, some ask why the campus wasn't shut down after an early-morning killing.

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  • Tuesday, April 17, 2007 01:29 AM

    For instance

    "Last August, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area."

    They took quick action then, shut down the first day of classes immediately and closed the campus last August when a killer was on the loose-- why not now?

    Frankly, I think it's partly symptomatic of the police and officials down there not taking "domestic disputes" seriously, even if they involve two deaths and they don't find a gunman or a weapon, indicating not only that the guy still in the area, but is also still armed. A murder is a murder, maybe until a woman is killed by her boyfriend, in which case it's just a "dispute," right? And then people are free to go to their classes after a half-hour delay, with a potential killer still armed and still on the loose. Even if it were two different shooters, the second could certainly capitalize on the lack of response generated by the first killings -- sorry, "dispute" -- in the dorm. The police and campus security were so myopically ready to see "domestic violence" --which doesn't matter to them, apparently -- that they didn't realize they were also seeing "two murders." On a campus that previously had zero murders, that doesn't require an emergency response?

    What do you do with all those people? Station police or volunteers at the parking lots, telling the nonresidents to go home -- officials did that anyway, after the Norris killings. Why not before? Also, make sure the kids don't go to classes the minute you realize two people are dead, which was at 7:15 am. Make an effing announcement to the RAs rather than sending four ineffectual emails when classes have already started and kids are already on the street. In short, keep your effing wits about you when you have two dorm murders following two bomb threats, instead of resorting to the good old boy shrug about a "domestic dispute."

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