Howard University officials are working to increase on-campus security after a weekend with incidents involving a mob of local teenagers and students.
The incident happened Sunday morning per Howard University release:
“A large group of juveniles gathered outside of one of our residence halls, Howard Plaza Towers, and physically assaulted several Howard University students. Through our investigation of this incident and our response to it, we learned that our public safety response did not meet our standards of support and assistance. We have since taken action to hold those persons accountable and have removed one individual from campus and suspended another pending an internal investigation.”
The incident resulted in a town hall earlier this week. Officials say this group has been known to stir up trouble.
“We’ve been tracking these juveniles, not only on our campus, but also throughout the District as well, over the summertime,” Executive vice president and chief operating officer of the school Dr. Tashni-Ann Dubroy said via WTOP. “They’re part of a fight club. They go to restaurants to instigate fights.”
Howard officials plan to add 1,000 new security cameras on campus. It will also have “safe pathways” where there will be more security personnel to better ensure the safety of students walking through campus and to residence halls. A Howard University public safety officer will be stationed at Towers Plaza between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Students are also encouraged to get a Peace of Mind device to use in the event they find themselves in an unsafe situation. The POM device will alert HU public safety officers and MPD of an incident and the need for assistance.