The Western Michigan University Campus Safety Information and Resources department did not issue an advisory following a shooting in Davis Street Park on April 17.
Over the last decade, WMU Campus Safety has periodically sent out advisories to students and staff about crimes that happened near a WMU campus. It's a practice that began after a deadly shooting spree in 2016. But when the Friday shooting took place around 3 p.m. in Davis Street Park — which is two blocks from WMU's east campus, less than a mile from the main campus, and home to many WMU students — no advisory was issued.
In a statement, WMU Police Chief Scott Merlo said that was because the suspect had immediately fled toward the downtown area, not toward campus.
"When off campus, direction of travel and distance from campus/WMU property are major considerations. Our advisory notifications are used for incidents near campus when there may be an ongoing threat that could potentially affect our campus community," Merlo said.
The suspect, 22-year old Carlin Andrew Barcelo, was not arrested until the next day, miles from the city of Kalamazoo, in Augusta. But Merlo said his team felt they had enough information about the situation to determine an advisory wasn't needed.
"The suspect in Friday’s shooting had immediately fled the area in a vehicle, heading east toward downtown—not toward campus. My officers were monitoring the situation on Davis Street and were in the area when this situation unfolded," Merlo said.
Campus Safety has previously issued advisories for similar incidents further from any WMU campus, like a shooting earlier in the month at the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan Building on Maple Street.
In that situation, Merlo said an advisory was issued because the suspect appeared to be headed toward university property.
"In the recent incident at the Girl Scout facility, the suspect was fleeing on foot and appeared to be moving toward Kleinstuck Preserve, a University-owned property. While that location is not part of the main campus area, the situation created the possibility that the individual could enter a WMU property. Because of that possibility, we issued an advisory to make the campus community aware," Merlo said.
That suspect, 22-year old Pharrell Stacy, was later found hiding in a closet inside the Girl Scouts building, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
"These decisions are made in real time based on the best information available, with the goal of providing timely information when there is a credible risk to campus," Merlo said.
