TAMPA, Fla. — Kaly Webber did what a lot of her friends wouldn’t do Wednesday. She returned to the Fine Arts building at the University of South Florida.
“A lot of the people that I know have stayed home or, you know, stayed home as much as they can,” she said.
Saturday, the USF Police Department called there when someone discovered a gun case and empty ammo magazines inside the building.
Then, on Tuesday, police discovered an “empty 9mm cartridge” in a parking lot nearby.
“It’s been scaring a lot of the students — a lot of my roommates and friends,” Webber said.
Students like Webber were already on edge after last week’s shooting at FSU, and she says that anxiety was intensified by USF’s communications after the gun paraphernalia was found on campus.
“I’d say if I found something like that — if a student found something like that — I would let the entire school know right away,” she said.
However, the Dean of Students and the Provost’s Office didn’t email all students until Monday and again on Wednesday.
The delay meant some students first found out about the incident on social media site Reddit.
“Insane how there’s no email about this,” one Redditor wrote.
Another student and a USF parent wrote ABC Action News and asked us to find out why a campus-wide alert wasn’t sent out or why students weren’t notified sooner.
In an email, Michael Lavelle, a USF Police spokesperson said, “At no time was there ever an active threat on campus that would have prompted an emergency alert.”
“We continue to actively investigate the matter, including collaborating with local law enforcement partners to determine how these items ended up on our campus,” he added. “Anyone with information regarding these incidents should contact USFPD.”
The department maintains it still has no reason to believe that there’s any active threat to USF.
However, with the horror at FSU still so fresh, students like Colin Nichols say the more information, the better.
“I don’t want to be just another number in the spectrum — in the matrix,” said the USF senior. “I have something to live for.”
USF Police says it increased its law enforcement presence after the FSU shooting.
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Catholics across the Tampa Bay Area are remembering the life and legacy of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88. Father Len Plazewski, the Pastor of Christ the King Church in South Tampa, thinks his legacy will be one of joy.
