EAST LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — We are learning more about technology upgrades at Michigan State University including hi-tech surveillance, that helped track down a mass shooter who opened fire Monday night.
After the death of Brendan Santo at MSU, the school has prioritized increasing its surveillance capabilities to roughly 2,000 campus-wide cameras. They were put into place and we’ve learned utilized during the mass tragedy.
“It’s massive. We have the river. Lots of dark areas. The cameras are the only way to monitor most of the campus,” says graduate student Victoria Morrissey.
She’s referring to improving the overall safety after Brendan Santo’s disappearance in October 2021.
“The emergency big green beacons. In a SOS, you have the emergency you can tap it and police can come quickly,” says Morrissey.
Another student, Caitlin Watkins tells us, “With what happened last year during the U of M game and cameras not working in North, it’s good they are working.”
The MSU Police Chief Marlon Lynch has also weighed in, “Footage or picture, that was determined was by an investigator going thru video itself and recognizing by description and other timelines. How we utilize systems have changed. Specs and standards of cameras now in place.”
The FBI adds it’s made the difference in this case in stopping an even longer manhunt.
“That’s True Simon. If we hadn’t had that image this could have continued to be a who done it. In this case, cameras were reviewed pretty quick,” says Special Agent In Charge James Tarasca.
The Chief says also work continues on a state-of-the-art operations center, to see any and all parts of the campus at once, to ensure the safety of each and every student.
