Tuscaloosa Leaders Get Update On University Mall Security

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Security at University Mall has been an ongoing topic of discussion among city leaders, as many in the community call for action after a mishandled pistol went off and injured four people in the mall in February.

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Tuscaloosa City Attorney Scott Holmes, who cited his experience prosecuting a previous shooting case at the mall, told the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Tuesday that while a dialogue has been started with mall officials, the onus remains on the business itself when it comes to implementing increased security measures.

"To this day, there are very few cameras in the mall," Holmes pointed out. "But it’s private property, so there’s very little we can do to change their internal security measures."

Apart from the shooting earlier this year, there have been multiple incidents at University Mall in recent years, such as a 2020 shooting that injured two people, including a 15 year old.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley also said the TPD Cyber Intelligence Unit has reached out to the mall to provide recommendations on cameras and what would be acceptable as far as the police department's standards.

“We’ve started an extra patrol in the parking lot to try to run anybody off that's just hanging out," he said. "They’ve inquired about officer's pay and how to get more officers to work out there and we need to get them that information. But everything they do is up to them, because they are private … We just give our recommendations and we have made multiple recommendations and we are waiting to see if they move forward with any of them."

Council President Kip Tyner mentioned that he recently spoke with the general manager of the mall, who informed him of the process currently underway to install new cameras in the food court, from its center court area to the entrance. This location is important due to the last shooting incident taking place in the vicinity of the food court, with the people of interest quickly identified thanks to existing surveillance cameras.

"She did assure me they were going to do that," Tyner said.

It's also worth noting that the Public Safety Committee received an update on the recent vandalism at Veterans Memorial Park, which is located on the western side of the University Mall's parking lot.

Blankley said after speaking with Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority (PARA) about the incident, PARA leaders informed investigators that the damage was likely caused during a four-month span. When asked by District 4 Councilman Lee Busby about potential suspects resulting from nearby security cameras, the police chief noted that there had been no new leads as of Tuesday.

However, Busby expressed gratitude for the outpouring of financial support for both a reward and to replace the damaged battle crosses, before mentioning the city's plans to help PARA with the replacements.

"We’re looking at helping them fund a more substantial permanent-type battle cross memorial," Busby said.

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