It’s been one month and 10 days since City College’s on-campus shooting that killed first-year student Roman P. Gonzalez, and every day since, students, faculty and staff have voiced their concerns about school safety.
As of press time, the shooting suspect is still has not been apprehended, as the Sacramento Police Department search for the man they described as a Pacific Islander wearing a white shirt and beige cargo shorts.
“We’re pretty much in the dark here as far as to where the investigation is going,” said City College Public Information Officer Rick Brewer. “We have not been given any information.”
According to Sacramento PD Public Information Officer Justin Brown, there are no current updates on the case.
However, despite the lack of a resolution to the shooting, City College administrators insist that the campus is a safe place.
“I think it would be unusual in normal circumstances for people to walk around City College and not feel safe, and not feel like this is a great place to be,” said City College President Kathryn Jeffery.
Recent numbers from the latest Clery Report, the annual account of campus crime statistics released by the Los Rios Police Department Oct. 1, reinforce Jeffery’s claim of safety at not only City College but also district-wide.
The 2015 Clery report shows the number of reported campus incidents from 2012 to 2014. The incidents range from forced sex offense to illegal weapons possession.
Numbers show that there were 143 reported incidents on City College’s main campus during the three-year period, 66 of which happened in 2012. Since that year, according to the report, illegal campus activity has dropped 33 percent, to 22 incidents in 2014.
Los Rios Police Captain Valerie Cox said the decrease in crime comes from the monitoring of the most common crimes on campuses. For example, if there is an increase in stolen bikes, LRPD will put out bait-bikes in attempt to lure potential thieves.
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According to the report, the main cause of concern in the district isn’t attacks on students or even robbery but illegal weapons possession and drug and liquor violations. Those three account for 48 percent of the reported crimes on main campuses district-wide, and 62 percent of crimes at City College.
Of the four main campuses in the district — Sacramento City, American River, Cosumnes River and Folsom Lake colleges — City College had the lowest recorded arrests — three — of those three aforementioned crimes.
Since this year’s report does not include any incidents from the 2015 spring and fall semesters, there is no “1” marked in the “murder/non-negligent manslaughter” category.
However, with campus shootings at colleges and universities becoming more common nationwide (there have been five fatal shootings on college campuses since Sept. 3), Jeffery said the district is looking into making some changes.
“As we look at the broader society and look at the kinds of things that can happen out there, it does call into question: What are some of the things we can do beyond what we had in place prior to the shooting? Things that could help us have a greater sense of security,” said Jeffery.
One possible change coming to the district is the emergency alert system. The district currently uses the W.A.R.N alert system for each of its campuses. However, the system came under fire after it took 40 minutes for students, faculty and staff to receive a notification of a campus lockdown following the on-campus shooting.
“I really don’t have a timetable as to when it would be, but there is an ongoing investigation [into the delays in the warning system],” said Rick Brewer, title. “The hope is that by the end of October [the report] will be out, and it’ll be interesting to see what that independent investigation will turn up.”
In the meantime, the campus community is anxious to see progress in the investigation into Gonzalez’s killing, according to Jeffery.
“[No arrest of the shooter is] still creating an area of discomfort for people. Not because they think that he’ll come back up here, but because of the fact that he’s still out there,” said Jeffery. “I believe people are just wanting to have a sense of justice for Roman and wanting to close that loop for [him] and his family.”
If you’d like to the view the crime statistics from each Los Rios campus, including the off-campus centers, you can go here.
