'Being angry is not enough': VSU launches safety program after students die in Petersburg

ETTRICK – Recent off-campus shooting deaths of two Virginia State University students in Petersburg prompted the university to enact several new safety initiatives, including the presence of university police at crimes and other scenes in Petersburg where VSU students are involved.

In a letter Friday to the VSU community, president Dr. Makola Abdullah said the school and Petersburg have adopted a “unified safety approach” to curb student-affected violence. The multi-faceted program includes increased patrols by both VSU and city police at apartment complexes in Petersburg where VSU students are living and daily contact between departments to “share intelligence and inform our VSU community of any activities [or] crimes that may impact our students,” Abdullah wrote in the letter that appears on VSU’s website.

VSU Police also will be called to assist with any crime in Petersburg where a VSU student is the victim or suspect, and when there are large gatherings of VSU students in Petersburg to include parties.

The university has hired a private security firm to work with VSU Police and authorities in Colonial Heights and Chesterfield County to patrol hotels in those areas where VSU students have been assigned residency.

Nineteen-year-old Matthew Gibbs and 20-year-old Adrionna Brooks West were shot and killed in separate incidents in Petersburg over a 10-day period.

Gibbs, of Columbia, South Carolina, was found shot Aug. 24 inside a car on Wakefield Street near Walnut Hill Elementary School. Petersburg Police say he was shot at another city location and discovered near the school. He died later at a local hospital.

West, of Chester, was shot late in the evening of Sept. 3 in the 700 block of High Street not far from the VSU campus. Police said she died at the scene.

Gibbs was set to graduate from VSU in 2027. West would have graduated in 2026.

The murders were Petersburg’s 13^th and 14^th of 2023.

Juveniles have been charged with the killings.

In his letter, Abdullah said the murders “left many of us processing an abundance of emotions.”

“While these deaths did not happen on our campus, we are no less saddened and angered by the senseless gun violence that stole two promising young scholars who were also members of our Trojan family,” he wrote. “However, we know that being angry is not enough. Therefore, we are working to take clear and decisive steps to make our campus and surrounding community safe spaces for our Trojans.”

That includes a thorough assessment of on-campus security, too. According to Abdullah’s letter, there are more than 1,200 high-def monitored cameras around campus and mobile camera systems that can be taken to various areas onsite. License-plate readers and cameras are also at campus entries and exits, and private-security officers will be stationed in residence halls. Unannounced safety sweeps inside the dorms will continue, and VSU will beef up security at off-campus school-run housing.

Also on Friday, VSU unveiled a social-media memorial for Gibbs and West, saying they will “forever be remembered, as their presence will dwell in the Land of Troy for eternity.”

Days before the start of VSU’s 2023-24 home football season, the university announced it would only allow clear storage bags inside Rogers Stadium beginning with the Sept. 9 game against Tusculum University.

Abdullah reminded the VSU community that safety is “a shared responsibility.” He encouraged students and others to report any suspicious activity to authorities.

“Every individual plays a critical role in protecting their safety as well as the safety of others,” he said.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: VSU announces plan for student safety in Petersburg after shootings