West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis says the owners of the Hub apartment complex are committed to shoring up security at their State Street property, which was the site of a pre-dawn shooting Sunday.
The mayor, who hosted officials from Chicago-based Core Spaces Thursday, says he’s asked for a signed letter detailing the security improvements they plan to make. Dennis says when the building was permitted, those assurances included limited points of entry into the building, with nearby security personnel; secured access to other floors and amenities; and a camera system to allow a security guard to monitor multiple areas.
“There’s this presumption that when people come to West Lafayette, when people come to Purdue University, when parents trust us with the lives of their children, that they will be looked after, and we as a community stand by that,” Dennis says.
But Dennis says he believes there were no "shortcuts" that led to Sunday’s breakdown in security—only a series of oversights.
“And I think that’s why they were so humbled and had their hat in their hand when we started having these directed conversations,” Dennis says.
Dennis called the lead-up to the shooting a “firecracker waiting to be lit”, saying Hub management admitted a failure in security camera operations and staffing assignments, as well as allowing too many people on the property because access was too easy.
WBAA reached a spokesman representing Core Spaces, who was not himself at the meeting. He said he had yet to speak with officials who were in the meeting and therefore could not comment on specifics.