Michigan State tightening campus security after shooting

Michigan State University is beefing up security on its East Lansing campus following the shooting last month that left three students dead and five wounded.

The changes to campus security include a plan to place locks on more than 1,300 classroom doors, add to the school’s fleet of more than 2,000 cameras and further restrict access to buildings for students, faculty and staff. 

The plan also includes making mandatory a training program for students on how to respond to active violent threats, which was previously voluntary. 

The school will conduct an audit of how its emergency services responded to the shooting, including seeking a review by a third-party entity.

The university’s interim President Teresa Woodruff and a number of other school officials said in a release announcing the security changes that these were not the only alterations to campus security that would be coming.

“These are not the only updates or changes and not the only time feedback will be sought,” the administrators said in the release. “This letter is intended to be the starting point on our campus journey toward a balance of ‘safety and welcoming,’ and we welcome your engagement.”

The safety enhancements at the university come after a gunman entered the campus and fatally shot three students in an academic building and the student union before killing himself. 

The February shooting followed a string of mass shootings in the U.S., including a shooting in Monterey Park, California, that left 11 people dead in late January.