As was alluded to in Kat's
scoop last night (for which my co-news editor, Adrian Florido, deserves a lot of credit), Chicago police have made an arrest in the murder of graduate student Amadou Cisse. Here's a quick rundown of the latest developments:
- 16-year old Eric Walker was charged today with first degree murder, and denied bail by a Cook County judge. According to the Chicago Police Department (CPD), they have a videotaped confession of Walker (with a parent present) admitting to the crime, which confirms the account of the female student who was mugged earlier the same night Cisse was murdered, and picked Walker out of a lineup. Walker was also charged with attempted armed robbery, armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm, in connection with the other muggings and attempted muggings throughout the evening.
- Police are weighing charges against at least one other suspect who may have been involved in the crime spree that evening, although they believe that Walker both suggested the idea of robbing people near campus and drove the maroon-doored car that was caught on a campus security camera. The suspects are all juveniles, although prosecutors expect to try them as adults.
- Police are also saying that Walker was involved in a fourth campus mugging earlier that evening, although the student who was robbed had not previously come forward. Details of that incident are not yet available.
- The University has pledged to review the emergency procedures that implemented in the hours after the shooting, including a close look at whether a cAlert should have been sent out immediately after the University was made aware of the shooting. (President Zimmer in a meeting today: "I think these are fair questions about the nature of the alert, and this is a... way to test the protocols in place.") The University is also going to bring in an outside consultant to evaluate the security of the campus and the neighborhood as a whole. (Zimmer: "It's useful for all parts of the University to have external advice, and it can be very useful to get input from experts who specialize in this kind of thing.")
- A memorial fund, facilitated by the University, is now accepting donations, which can be sent to Amadou Cisse Family Support Fund, c/o University of Chicago Bursar, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637. The donations will be given directly to the family of Amadou Cisse.
More information is available with the
Chicago Tribune's
coverage of Walker's bail hearing.
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In ongoing community news, the latest attempt to fund the CTA (which is approaching the next "doomsday" at the end of December) was dramatically
voted down today in the Illinois House of Representatives, increasing the possibility of dramatic fare increases and route cuts next year.
And we asked President Zimmer today about what the University planned to do if their offer to buy out the Hyde Park Co-Op Markets was rejected by shareholders in the ongoing vote. According to Zimmer, there was "absolutely" no possibility of the U of C helping the Co-Op with rehabilitation or debt forgiveness if their offer is rejected.
