U. plans to boost security in subway

University Police will step up patrols around SEPTA transit stops following Monday night's shooting of a Temple University student at the SEPTA station at 36th and Sansom streets, Commissioner John Kuprevich said yesterday. The 20-year-old student was shot in the neck and leg, police said. He was listed in stable condition yesterday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. University Police have asked the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to increase officer patrol at all stops. "We know right now that people have a greater sense of fear," Kuprevich said. "[But] it doesn't have the potential of happening everyday." SEPTA spokesperson Marge Sullivan said she thinks the shooting was just an isolated incident. "It is as safe riding SEPTA as it is going anywhere," Sullivan said. "These things are going to happen no matter what, and I don't think SEPTA is any less safe." Sullivan said yesterday afternoon that there would be no additional SEPTA security put in place around University subway stops, but added that SEPTA police officers patrol the area regularly. Kuprevich said that as of yesterday afternoon he had not received a response to his request for additional SEPTA patrols. He said SEPTA has been very responsive in the past and added that he does not foresee any problems now. Kuprevich said University Police had received phone calls all day from concerned students and University community members about what to do in the wake of the shooting. "To believe that the subway is no longer safe is inappropriate," Kuprevich said. But some students said they are still afraid to ride the SEPTA trains. Nursing freshman Linda D'Andrea said she rides SEPTA three or four times a week to get to Center City and added that this incident has her worried. "It seems so real," D'Andrea said. "I'll be scared to ride the subway now. I'll be on my guard." D'Andrea said she should not have to be scared of her surroundings. "I'm not going to stop taking the subway because I can't let my fears stop me from doing what I want or need to do," she said. Wharton senior Lincoln Singleton said that, as a result of the shooting, he does not feel safe near any of the subway stops. "It could've been any of us at any time," he said. "I'm taking buses or taxis from now on. [In the future] I won't take the subway unless I'm in a big group." Kuprevich said he tells students that they should follow their instincts when it comes to riding the subway. "If you go down [to the subway stop] and there are people there that you feel comfortable with, go with your gut," he said. He added that if students do not feel safe at the stops, they should call University Police, who will respond to the call and go to the location. College sophomore Keisha-Ann Gray said she is surprised that something like this could happen so close to the University. "I don't feel that safe because something like this happened so close to school," Gray said. "It just scares me." Kuprevich said the last series of crimes near University SEPTA entrances occurred last summer and stopped after University Police arrested two suspects in conjunction with crimes in the area. Undergraduate Assembly Safety and Security Committee Chairperson Mark Frederick said he believes the shooting was an isolated incident. "In the subway, as in walking the streets, you have to keep your eyes out," he said. "I don't think Penn students should necessarily say 'no' to riding the subway. I want to think it's not a problem that's going to repeat itself."

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