By Raven Hanning and Kia Wynne
For the past two weeks, UNC Pembroke has been recovering from an on-campus shooting that killed one student.
Khalil Alford, 19, was shot Feb. 7 around 4:43 p.m. at the University Courtyard Apartments before he died from his injuries outside of Tabernacle Baptist Church located at 3764 NC-711 at Moss Neck Road in Lumberton.
Late Afternoon
When the shooting occurred, the UNCP administration sent out an emergency notification. A different system from the widely used Brave Alert notifications, around 40 minutes after the shooting at 5:21 p.m.
Many students reported they did not see this notification, saying the first thing they saw was either the blank Brave Alert or the “All Clear” Brave Alert. The active shooter alert message was sent through Brave Alert nearly 50 minutes after at 5:37 p.m.
Campus administration did not lock down the university according to Shelby Horne, a Psychology Junior.
“I was walking in the middle of campus,” she said.
The SGA was holding their weekly meeting at the time.
That night, the student body tried to organize a protest for quicker communication, scheduling it for 12:00 p.m. the next day and suggested a vigil for Alford at the rock in the Main Quad.
Thursday, February 8
The next morning, campus was quiet. Classes before 11:00 a.m. were canceled after people started to flood the comment sections on both of the University’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The chancellor sent a email to BraveNation, stating “Our hearts are with the family of our fellow Brave, those who knew him personally and those who are traumatized by this senseless act of violence. Please know if you need support, resources are available to you, and I strongly encourage you to reach out.”
In addition to counseling services provided by CAPS, the university opened its doors for extra support. The UC Annex was open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and both Cypress and Pine multi-purpose rooms were open from 4:30-5:30 p.m.
The protest scheduled for that afternoon was canceled, but the few attendants that were there spoke out, discussing the delay in notification, campus not going on lockdown, and parents not being notified of the emergency situation.
The vigil was also canceled.
Chancellor Robin Cummings and Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Gabriel Eszterhas held a small press conference around 12:30 p.m. where they addressed the growing campus safety concerns.
“We have to review the human’s actions,” Eszterhas said. The human-error he is referring to are the Responsible University Authorities, or RUAs, who have the authority and responsibility to release Brave Alerts and Emergency messages.
The Brave Alert system has a blank template to help RUAs post alerts faster. In this case, a blank message was accidentally sent instead of one containing pertinent information.
“A thorough minute-by-minute review of the incident is underway. We have already made efforts to identify areas in the alert system to make immediate improvements. In addition, we will be engaging an external consultant to determine where additional improvements can be made,” stated by Chancellor Cummings in a letter to the student body on Feb.9.
Campus police cruisers from East Carolina University, NC A&T, and UNC-Wilmington were seen on UNCP campus from Thursday, Feb. 8., through Sunday Feb. 11. Vehicles from Robeson County Sheriff Department, Pembroke Police Department, NC-SBI and Myrtle Beach Police Department were also patrolling campus in the days following the shooting during preliminary investigation efforts.
Chancellor Cummings explained in an email that this is a courtesy shared with system universities to provide support during challenging times to relieve some duties from UNCP Campus police.
Tuesday, February 13
Chancellor Cummings announced on Tuesday, one week after the shooting, that the SGA was hosting the vigil at 6:00 p.m. that day in front of Old Main.
“In addition, university administration will be present at SGA’s weekly meeting tomorrow, at 5:15 p.m. in James A. Thomas Hall Room 130, to speak and hear concerns,” stated the Chancellor in the letter.
At the vigil, Khalil Alford’s family spoke about who Alford was to them, his personality and his character.
“We did everything together. Something that just made me always laugh and smile, if you really knew Khalil, [was that] he loved Hawaiian rolls. He’d eat a whole pack of them. He would go to the store and everybody was getting chips and snacks, he just wanted some Hawaiian rolls, that’s all he wanted, “Desmond Davis, Khalil’s cousin said. “Every time I think about it, I just try to think of the good things about him and just laugh and smile and play, you know he wanted to be so great, but he was a young guy just trying to figure out his way and just trying to figure out what to do.”
“Khalil has been a big part of my life since the day he was born and I feel like somebody robbed us of something that we will never get back and I just don’t know how to feel about that, “Melissa Ocean, Alford’s Aunt said. “We ask as a family for anybody that knows anything, knows the whereabouts of these individuals, come forth in my nephews name and give us a little bit of peace, give his mom some peace so she could sleep at night.”
Wednesday, February 14
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced that they had arrested Kendell T. Brown in connection with the shooting on Feb. 14, just after noon.
He was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and discharging a firearm on educational property, but he has not been charged with the death of Khalil, according to Anjanette Grube, SBI Public Information Director. Brown was not a student at UNCP.
Authorities believe this was an isolated event and that campus and surrounding community is not at risk.
“This past week has been challenging for our university, but I am immensely proud of the support I’ve seen demonstrated for each other and the collective commitment to ensuring UNCP is a safe space for our students, faculty, and staff to learn, work and grow. Hearing and understanding the concerns of our campus community is how we make that possible. As such, university administration will continue to join and engage in conversations, beginning with our on-campus shared governance groups,” stated Chancellor Cummings in a final letter to BraveNation.
“Campus leaders will be present at today’s SGA meeting at 5:15 p.m. in James A. Thomas Hall, Room 130. Likewise, in the coming weeks, we will be in touch with Faculty Senate and Staff Senate leadership to make plans to join their upcoming full meetings. We will continue to review and assess the measures we have in place, both internally and with an external consultant, to identify areas where additional measures can be implemented.”
At the SGA meeting, changes were made such as having two officers on each shift and brave alert being fixed for the future.
Present Day
The Mary Livermore Library will be hosting “Wellness Wave: A Mental Health Series” which focuses on overall mental wellness and student success tactics starting Feb. 20 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in the main reading room.
The first session features guest speaker Dr. Whitney Akers and focuses on Mental Health Wellness and General Coping Skills.