North Carolina Central University (NCCU) held a news conference today, Sept. 20, 2021, as a follow up to an incident that occurred on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Neither of the victims were students at NCCU.
The news conference was led by Johnson O. Akinleye, Ph.D., chancellor of North Carolina Central University, who expressed his condolences to families of the victims, and then stated:
“Let me assure everyone—the NCCU community and the public at large—that our campus is and remains a safe and healthy environment. While unforeseen tragedies such as these occur, this one took place too close to the heart of North Carolina Central University, where our students both live and learn. Over the past three years, we have invested more than $3 million in state-of-the-art security technology on our campus.
Violence of any kind, anywhere is unconscionable. We are pleading with the City of Durham, Durham County and North Carolina State officials to commit to devoting more resources and attention to combating the issues of crime in Durham. It is critical to protect the lives of individuals living and learning on our campus, those in the neighborhoods adjacent to NCCU and residents in the greater Durham community. This is an important matter of health and public safety for our students, faculty, staff and Durham residents. We will not live in fear or have our health and well-being at risk due to gun violence and crime. It has to stop today.”
Derrick C. Stanfield, president of NCCU’s Student Government Association, noted:
“Saturday’s occurrence is reflective of the growing issue of violence in the Durham community and its overflow onto our campus. I am confident in our university’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the members of our university community. The Student Government Association will continue to support and assist University Police in their efforts to continue to provide a safe environment for our students to learn.”
A link to the news conference is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSIIOeLnc34
