Natalicio: No Reason To Change UTEP Security Due To Random Bullet From Juarez Shooting
UTEP President Diana Natalicio said on Monday that it’s unfortunate the Juarez violence has tainted El Paso and the university, following the discovery of a stray bullet on campus that UTEP officials believe came from a shootout Saturday in West Juarez.
“I don’t think this is good for El Paso’s image or UTEP’s image and that’s unfortunate because I think they’re safe places”, the president said during a news conference.
Natalicio said there was no reason to change security policies on campus because this was a random event.
“I think we have to be very careful not to over react, balance is important”, she said.
Natalicio said UTEP police discovered the bullet, which was dodged in the door of a staffer’s office, on Sunday morning during a routine check.
UTEP Chief of Police, Cliff Walsh said they had no reason to believe the bullet came from anywhere but Juarez. The bullet struck the south side of the building, went through a window on a door, and ended stuck on the door of an office.
The bullet is now in a lab, where UTEP officials hope they’ll be able to discover the caliber and the type of weapon the bullet came from. Walsh said they believe the bullet went through the building at the same time as a nearby Juarez shootout.
Bell Hall, the building where the bullet was found, houses the Dean of Science’s office and math labs.
During a major emergency or natural disaster, UTEP has an emergency alert system that sends out text messages and e-mails to students, faculty and staff warning them of danger. Walsh said that in case of a shooting, they are encouraged to seek shelter in buildings, not necessarily evacuate. Signing up is free. They just need to log on to my.utep.edu and click on the My Home tab. It will automatically ask if they would like to sign up for this service. UTEP also plans to send out a campus bulletin via email alerting all faculty, staff and students of this service.
However, on Saturday, when the bullet hit campus, the university was virtually empty, Natalicio said.
“We are living next door to a city that’s carrying on with gun fights on a regular basis and that’s not easy when you’re a next door neighbor”, she also said.
Students had mixed reactions. Ricky Perez said he doubted anything like that would happen again but said, “I don’t want to get shot by a stray bullet that I don’t have anything to do with.”
