In response to a quarrel that resulted in gunfire which had taken place on September 2, 2009, the Skyline faculty and staff made a concerted effort to cooperate with the Public officials working to safeguard the college campus.
The government officials that were present included police officers that ranged in representation from the various cities within the District of San Mateo County and well as members of the S.W.A.T. team.
Quite notably, Skyline College’s recently designated (but duly experienced) Chief of Public Safety, Officer Brian Tupper, was working that day.
He was quickly catapulted into the center of all the activity as he was called into action to fulfill his cardinal duty as Skyline’s Chief Public Safety Officer.
In an exclusive interview with Chief Tupper, he discussed the condition of security in the aftermath of the school shootin,g as well as the corresponding effects the incident has had on Skyline students’ peace of mind.
The safety and security of faculty and students at Skyline College has always been a top priority, but more recently, the campus has implemented additional steps to ensure the level of ongoing security.
According to Chief Tupper, this includes an “elevated level of officers on staff from within the San Bruno Police Department and the San Mateo County District.”
Wednesday’s shooting incident has affected the number of Police officials assigned to the campus, increasing the number by an extra two bodies at a time, allowing them to “fill in the gaps where necessary” to secure the school premises.
Gaining an increase of police presence is really “not a financial issue, but rather it is a body issue,” Tupper admitted.
The Skyline College’s public safety department has always provided (upon request) an extra security service to its students who wish to be escorted by a public safety official to their vehicles. Since the event of last Wednesday, the service has been granted more attention, but according to Tupper has not been utilized very much. Thus far, only “one student has requested” and taken advantage of this service.
In addition, Chief Tupper encourages students to “buddy up, and walk out together” when stepping out to access their vehicles.
Students wishing to request for this service should call the Skyline Public Safety office at (650) 738-4455, or drop by their office in building 6-106.
So, what is next on the agenda for the Chief of Public Safety at Skyline College? Chief Tupper, along with the Skyline faculty and public security officials will have to “dissect what has happened.”
They will need to examine the areas “where [they] were lacking” and plan for future events buy discussing how and “what [they] can do to improve upon things.”
Unfortunately, at this time, Chief Tupper was not able to publicly release the name of the student that was shot and injured on September 2, 2009, nor could he provide any of the names or the current status of the 3-4 suspects that were of interest in this case.
He did say that, of the three suspects that the police had arrested and took in for questioning, two of the suspects had been released, and one of the suspects has been detained for further investigation.