By Matthew Sotlar / The Jambar
Youngstown State University experienced a series of reported incidents over the past weekend, causing concern over a perceived rise in criminal activity on campus.
The first incident involved reported gunshots at Stambaugh Stadium around 9:30 p.m., Sept. 20, during a football game between Cardinal Mooney and Chardon High Schools.
According to YSU police, a juvenile victim sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and was transported from Stambaugh Stadium to Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown for medical examination. The victim did not identify the suspected shooter, and no arrests have been made at the time of publishing.
The shooting is still an active felonious assault case, and the victim was cleared by YSU police and released following treatment.
In addition to the shooting, a YSU student reported an alleged sexual assault Sept. 21 in the University Courtyard Apartments. The student was treated at St. Elizabeth’s and a rape kit was used to collect evidence. The suspect was identified by the student and YSU police. This case is also currently active.
That same day, YSU police was dispatched to Lyden House at 1:15 p.m. for a report of an alleged theft. The victim in the incident reported leaving an unlocked car parked outside of Lyden House overnight, when a $70 Kate Spade necklace was allegedly stolen from inside. Attempts to gather closed-circuit television footage failed because of a campus-wide WiFi outage.
During YSU President Bill Johnson’s State of the University address, he emphasized his commitment to maintaining campus safety at YSU.
“The safety and the security of our students and visitors that come to our campus, that is our number-one responsibility, and it’s at the top of our priority list,” Johnson said.
Brendan Considine, Cardinal Mooney principal, released a statement Sept. 21 that reiterated Johnson’s commitment to student safety.
“At Cardinal Mooney, we place the safety and security of our students as the highest priority,” Considine stated. “We join everyone involved in expressing our prayers for healing for our entire school family and our community.”
Additionally, Johnson said that the university will discuss security enhancements with high schools that utilize YSU facilities.
“It’s kind of a break-even situation,” Johnson said. “Mooney and Ursuline [High School] both use Stambaugh Stadium to play their football games, so we’re going to be getting with them to talk about security at these high school football games.”
Echoing his previous statements following the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah State University, Johnson emphasized the importance of campus safety following the shooting at Stambaugh Stadium.
“With what happened over the last couple of weeks out in Utah with the assassination of Kirk, and now with what happened right here on our campus Friday night at the football game, we’re in new territory,” Johnson said. “Security has to take a more-focused view … we’re gonna do everything we can to make sure our campus is as secure a location as possible when people come out here.”
