The Observer, Volume L, Issue 11, 11/9/18

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Case Western Reserve University volume L, issue 11 friday, 11/9/2018

Observer Third-year student shot on South Side Two suspects taken into custody after shooting student in torso

Sophia Yakumithis News Editor On the night of Nov. 3, a Case Western Reserve University student was shot in a parking lot on Murray Hill Road during a carjacking incident which escalated into a shootout with police. A press conference to address the incident was held by President Barbara Snyder, Vice President for Student Affairs Lou Stark, CWRU Police Chief Jay Hodge, University Circle Inc. President Chris Ronayne, University Circle Police Department Chief Jim Repicky, Councilman Blaine A. Griffin and representative from University Hospitals surgical leadership on Sunday, followed by an additional update from Snyder, Stark and Hodge later in the evening. CWRU Student Affairs and Public Safety also released a joint statement on Monday confirming that the victim was moved out of intensive care the previous night and is now physically responsive. Just after 8 p.m., the CWRU Police responded to reports of a gunshot victim in

a parking lot in South Residential Village. Upon arrival, the officers found a student who reportedly encountered two youths in the lot who attempted to steal the student’s car. After shooting the third-year student in the stomach, the suspects fled before police could arrive on the scene. The City of Cleveland and University Circle Police Departments connected with CWRU’s force in the lot shortly after. At 8:15 p.m., the UCPD reported that the two suspects were apprehended in the vicinity of East 120th Street and Coltman Road. One exchanged fire with officers and, while none of the UCPD officers were injured, the suspect was shot. The officers then proceeded to secure the scene and gathered evidence and information from those present during the shooting. Both Javon Williams and Shamar Smiley have been charged with attempted murder. Williams is held in county jail on $1 million bond, while Smiley, who was shot by UCPD and transported to the hospital, was charged on Tuesday after a release from the hospital. Hodge said that the three police forces frequently work together and have a “strong,

Jack Lewis/Observer The Phi Delta Theta house on Murray Hill Road. The nighttime shooting on Saturday, Nov. 3 occured on the road near the house. collaborative working relationship.” Residents on South Side had difficulty comprehending the situation, but according to Co-Director of Residence Life Stephen “Skip” Begley, Resident Assistants (RAs) did their best to help students with their emotions. “The RAs have reported that many students just wanted to talk through what had happened, how it made them feel and what they could do to help,” he said. “The RAs did a lot of listening and made referrals to campus resources, such as University Counseling Services or the Interreligious Council, for those students who needed more support.” The University offers an on-call service

to those living in campus housing, which is answered by the Office of Residence life during business hours. At night and on weekends, though, different levels of staff respond to those calls. At the time of the shooting, RAs were not on call, only Supervisors On-Call (SOCs). Begley said that SOCs were notified about the incident and responded to CWRU’s management of the situation. “The severity of the incident and its location meant that CWRU Police and University leadership took on the most active roles in responding to the incident,” he explained. Although the CWRU police officers are presently working to respond to dangerous situations with greater safety measures on

Jackson Rudoff/Observer (L to R) University Circle (UC) Inc. President Chris Ronayne, CWRU PD Chief Jay Hodge and UCPD Chief Jim Repicky look on during a press conference. campus, Hodge says there is always room for improvement due to the “ebb and flow” of crime frequency on or near campus. “Incidents overall were significantly lower in 2017 than in the previous two years, but incidents like this weekend’s shooting powerfully demonstrate that numbers alone do not define the security of a community,” said Hodge. Hodge also explained that various safety measures like the CWRU Shield app, a 30 percent increase in security cameras since 2015 and training opportunities like

A.L.I.C.E. are effective, but the department wants to do even more to keep students safe. Third-year student Libby Schubert shared their concerns on potentially increasing police presence on campus out of what they consider to be a “reactionary response from the University.” They said, “I have concern for how it will make persons of color on and off campus feel in terms of their personal safety, even though I cannot personally speak from their perspective.”

News

A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 3 Prioritizing mental health

pg. 7 Experiencing a seance

pg. 11 Improving alert times

pg. 15 Soccer secures playoff berth

to SHOOTING I 2

Jackson Rudoff/Observer President Barbara Snyder speaking during a press conference on Sunday.


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The Observer, Volume L, Issue 11, 11/9/18 by The Observer - Issuu