Updated Feb. 20, 2020.
Gun violence is a growing concern for Salisbury University students after incidents outside Guido's Burritos and in The Flatts Salisbury took place the weekend of Feb. 11. Both incidents were less than a mile away from SU's campus.
SU Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Dane Foust sent a school-wide email on Feb. 11 regarding the shots fired outside of Guido’s Burrito's at 1:45 a.m. Guido's Burritos is located on South Salisbury Boulevard across the street from SU's Maggs gym. The Salisbury Police Department announced one arrest Feb. 11.
“Upon investigation, shell casings were found in the parking lot, however, there appears to be no physical injuries or property damage,” according to Foust's email.
This is the restaurant’s second gun-related incident since Oct. 23, 2021, according to the Salisbury Daily Times.
Foust sent another email Feb. 12 regarding shots fired at 1:19 a.m. in The Flatts Salisbury parking lot. The Flatts, an apartment complex with student residents, is located on Onley Road, within walking distance from campus.
“It is our understanding that nobody was shot or injured; however, shots were fired and property was damaged,” Foust wrote.
Amanda Niederland, a junior at SU and resident at The Flatts, was unsettled by how close the incidents were to SU.
“I just feel like it [gun-related incidents] could happen anytime throughout the day… it’s a little frightening,” she said.
Niederland woke up on Saturday to find she’d slept through the reported shots fired outside The Flatts.
“It was a little terrifying,” she recalled.
Gun violence is also impacting Saferide, a student-run organization that transports students to their residences from off-campus locations.
Past gun violence prompted Saferide to stop servicing locations like Brew River and Guido’s Burritos in the fall of 2021.
As of Feb. 17, Saferide now services Brew River, but the same cannot be said for Guido's Burritos, and Saferide Director of Community Relations Gabriela Torres does not anticipate this to change this semester.
Torres said fewer students requested to be picked up from Guido’s Burritos before Saferide's decision. She feels the decrease was because of past gun violence at the location.
“I think what’s shocking about it [recent shots fired at Guido’s Burritos] is that it’s so close to the university…You never know what’s going to happen around you,” she said.
By OLIVIA BALLMANN
Editor-in-Chief
Photography courtesy of Ben Lausch.