Some students fear a violent attack on campus can occur, and are uncertain how campus police would access the situation.
“Yes, everyday I come to school I fear a violent attack on campus and I don’t know how (campus police) will deal with it because it is not on campus to see what’s going on,” Jason Thomas, physical education major said.
Chief of Police Bukowiecki implied that students should feel safe on campus. “No, absolutely not, there’s no reason to fear for your safety on this campus.”
“This campus is safer than surrounding neighborhoods,” he added.
On April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech University, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured many others before committing suicide. The incident was labeled as the deadliest shooting by a single gunman in United States history.
In a recent study conducted by The United States Secret Service, United States Department of Education, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, 94 percent of campus incidents are carried out by men.
They also reported that firearms are used 54 percent of the time, knives 21 percent, and a combination of weapons/methods 10 percent.
In February, student Fernando Castellon was arrested on campus by the Fine Arts building when displaying suspicious behavior in the men’s restroom.
Campus police later discovered a knife and stained blood in Castellon’s jacket pocket.
“This wasn’t a violent crime, but this was a call of someone acting suspiciously in the bathroom,” Bukowiecki said. “According to the dispatcher it took approximately four minutes to respond to the call.”
So far there has been no other reports about suspicious students and a crime statistics report for 2009 will be available on the Cerritos College website October 2010.
Bukowiecki mentioned that provisions are available on campus that monitor students who exhibit threatening behavior or that may make threats.
Lizette Ramirez, criminal justice major said, “I personally think there can be an attack here on campus and the police wouldn’t know what to do, so I wouldn’t bother calling.”
Bukowiecki disagrees with this statement. “My officers are in the field and they respond to calls immediately depending on the priority of the call.”
If an attack on campus was to occur, Bukowiecki urges students to escape if possible, go the opposite direction of the attack, or find shelter.
He also suggested that students sign-up for ALERT-U, a mass notification system that will notify students and staff when an emergency happens on campus.
“Unfortunately the majority of students aren’t signed up for ALERT-U and they should be. It instantly lets you know when an emergency occurs on campus.”
