Catholic University town hall meeting to address safety

WASHINGTON - The president of Catholic University will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday to discuss safety and security on campus following recent deadly shootings on and near school grounds.

University President Peter Kilpatrick said members of the community can join in-person on campus or virtually.

Earlier this week, Kilpatrick and law enforcement leaders held a campus safety walk around school grounds.

The safety walk and meeting come after the shooting death of Maxwell Emerson who was killed on the university’s campus as he walked to a Metro station. Emerson was in the nation’s capital with family to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. He planned to attend a teacher’s conference at the Library of Congress the day he was killed.

His alleged attacker, 22-year-old Jaime Macedo was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed.

On July 17, a man was shot and killed near Seventh and Monroe Streets close to the campus. Police say they arrived and found the man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.

Homicides in the District are up 18 percent this year compared to last year. Assaults with a dangerous weapon have increased by 33 percent and violent crime totals have increased 37 percent.