North Carolina Central University students and parents are calling for the university to work with Durham police on off-campus safety.
Two students are recovering from a shooting that happened Sunday night. Police said a driver fired shots out of their car, passing by the intersection of Concord and Dupree Streets. A man and a woman were injured. Police have not named the victim and the university declined to do so.
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As the block turned into a crime scene just steps away from campus, the school determined a safety alert was not "warranted."
Nikida McDaniel is a mother of an NCCU freshman. McDaniel said she found out about the shooting from a Facebook group for parents of NC Central students.
"They just said that 'It was a shooting on campus. Check on your people,'" McDaniel said. "It was devastating to hear, actually. Folks who were on the Facebook post said their student had been shot, and they were awaiting information and details about it."
NCCU students and campus community members can sign up for emergency alerts here.
WRAL wanted to learn more about the school's safety protocols and sent NC Central a list of questions:
- Did NC Central send out a safety alert to the school community informing them that a shooting had occurred near off campus?
- What is NC Central's process for alerting students of on and off campus incidents?
- What parameters does an off campus incident need to meet to warrant a student safety alert?
- What is NC Central doing to keep students safe on and off campus?
- To what degree is student safety NC Central's responsibility when students are in the general area, but not directly on campus?
- What is your message to parents of students and students worried about off campus safety?
- Is NC Central able to identify the victims or provide an update on their recovery?
A spokesperson with the university replied, detailing NCCU's safety protocols, and explaining that off campus public safety is largely a Durham Police responsibility.
"When officers responded, there was no information indicating that the incident posed a serious or continuing threat to students or employees on campus," the statement said. "Based on the circumstances known at the time, an emergency notification was not warranted."
The email also explained that NCCU uses RAVE Mobility System to issue alerts. Any member of the campus community is welcome to sign up for emergency calls, texts, voice messages, and emails.
WRAL spoke with several students on campus Wednesday. All three said they feel safer on campus than off campus.
