PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Temple University has announced more new safety measures following the shooting death of Sam Collington. The Temple senior was killed as he was returning to campus from Thanksgiving break.
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Temple President Dr. Jason Wingard spelled out the changes in a message to the university community, and they will be the topic of an online forum at 5 p.m. on Thurday. Parents and students can hear from Wingard and city and Police Department representatives.
Some of the changes include a 50% increase in the size of the campus safety force in the coming days and weeks and more Philadelphia police patrols in off-campus areas. The university will upgrade lighting, cameras and emergency phones on campus. And a shuttle service that gets students to and from campus housing will be made more available.
Improvements will also be made to the university's Walking Escort Program. That program was visible on Wednesday morning, as a Temple bicycle officer escorted a student to one of the buildings on campus.
Temple changed its safety plan once already, earlier in November, days after 18-year-old Ahmir Jones was killed when he was shot in the chest about three blocks from campus. He was not a Temple student.
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Now, these additional changes are coming days after a 16-year-old Strawberry Mansion High School student was gunned down, blocks away from the university, and 21-year-old Collington was killed in an attempted robbery just off campus on Sunday.
The Philadelphia Police Department says investigators have identified a person of interest, but so far no one has been arrested.
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