Bowie State University students are heading back to school on Monday after a shooting rocked the historically Black university during homecoming events. After the Oct. 7 shooting that injured two 19-year-olds, students were given a week off to take care of their mental health. The school is now taking measures to keep them physically safe, too.
“We want a safe campus for all students,” BSU spokesperson David Thompson told WTOP. “And it is a safe campus.”
Thompson said that BSU administrators are doing everything they can to ensure that students, faculty and staff will be safe, not only on Monday, but for the remainder of the school year.
Among the new security measures, students can expect to see more police and security officers on campus, as well as armed security at two of the primary entrances.
Cars entering through the guard post on Loop Road will have license plates scanned and IDs will be checked.
In addition, there are now 19 call boxes installed around campus so students can immediately reach campus police in case of an emergency.
Thompson said the school is also considering additional safety measures, including installing metal detectors in residence halls, enhancing perimeter lighting and the use of an artificial intelligence weapons detection system.
He said making sure students are safe while also keeping the culture of an open campus is a balancing act.
“Bottom line is that everyone wants to move around freely,” Thompson said. “At the same time, we all understand that campus safety has to come first.”
The school posted a list of responses to questions students and parents have been asking, including on the topics of safety resources, drug usage on campus, as well as police enforcement and presence.
Students will also continue to have access to individual and group mental health counseling.
Two 19-year-olds were shot and injured on Oct. 7 in front of the school’s Center for Business and Graduate Studies. Police say they don’t believe anyone involved with the shooting were students.
Maryland State Police are offering a reward of $2,500 for a tip that leads to an arrest and indictment. Anyone with information on what happened should call Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS (8477).
The shooting at Bowie State came a week after gunfire erupted at Morgan State University, a historically Black university in Baltimore, where five people were injured. Police say the two shootings are unrelated. A 17-year-old DC teen was arrested in that incident.
