The management at Sterling Crimson, both locally and corporately, said they have spent the last several days listening to and beginning to address questions and concerns regarding security at their apartments in the wake of the fatal shooting of University of Alabama grad student Harry James Johnson.
Whit Stephens, the leasing manager for the Tuscaloosa apartments, said he and his team have spent most of their time on the phone since Johnson was shot early Sunday morning, and he has pitched every idea they found beneficial to their corporate offices in Texas.
“However,” Stephens said, “we do not make the final decisions. Our corporate offices do that.”
Mark Foraker, president and apartment manager of the corporate offices, called Dinersten Companies, said they were hearing these requests and working to implement additional security in light of the shooting.
“We are very sad to report that a University of Alabama graduate student, James Harry Johnson was found deceased on our property early Sunday morning,” said Foraker. “While Mr. Johnson was not a resident of Sterling Crimson, it is likely that many of you may have known him and our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Johnson’s family as well as to all of you who did know him.”
Foraker went on to detail the new security precautions that the corporate offices are planning to implement in light of Johnson’s death.
He said the apartment’s three patrol officers, who are also Tuscaloosa Police Department Officers, would begin conducting their patrols in uniform as opposed to plain clothes, that the TPD would begin giving lessons to residents about being aware of their surroundings and staying safe on campus and the TPD has agreed to increase regular patrols of the area.
In response to several resident allegations that security at the apartments has been dangerously lax, Foraker said initial reviews of the security systems showed the controlled access gates in the area if the shooting were fully operational at the time, but they are continuing to examine maintenance records to see if there were reports of equipment problems at the time of the incident.
When asked if the shooting would affect rates at Sterling Crimson, or if a program would be implemented to allow residents worried about their security to terminate the lease, Foraker said it was too soon to know how they would handle the business side of things.
The Tuscaloosa Police Department is continuing to prioritize the investigation of the death of the student, Captain Loyd Baker said.
“There’s a lot I’m not able to talk about for investigative reasons,” Baker said. “But we’re making progress and we’re following leads.”
It is much too early to speculate on any of the effects of this event on business operations, Foraker said.
“As of today, we do not know what the full circumstances of this tragedy are, and the facts of the situation are still evolving,” he said. “Until last weekend, we were not aware of any instances of violence at Sterling Crimson Place.”
Foraker asked everyone to remember that no one can guarantee anyone’s personal safety.
“Access Control systems provide limited protection and are easily defeated by determined people with ill intent,” he said.
