The gunshots were one of several gun-related incidents in the apartment complexes in the Northern Tier apartments in the past year.

The apartment complexes — such as Chandler Crossings and The Pointe, formerly known as Crossing Place — primarily house students.

The Landings at Chandler Crossings — located on the east side of Abbot Road — is the only complex part of East Lansing. The others are under the jurisdiction of Bath Township, Mich.

Although some residents have voiced concerns about the safety of the apartment complexes following the gun-related incidents in the area, Bath Township and East Lansing police believe the area is adequately protected, police officials said.

The crime in the area is comparable to other densely populated apartment complexes and is not unique in the number of incidences that occur there, Rose said.

Still, the fatal shooting that occurred in December and the January shooting that injured an 18-year-old Oak Park, Mich., man, pose questions about the safety of residents in the area, East Lansing Director of Planning and Community Development Tim Dempsey said.

East Lansing did not approve of the apartments being built within city limits because of the distance from campus and concerns about providing them with adequate services.

East Lansing annexed the area in 2002 that now houses The Landings because of concern for student safety and the ability of Bath Township Police to keep the area secure.

“Any time incidents like that bring the safety of residents in question, it’s definitely a concern for (our city),” Dempsey said.

Patrolling the scene
Since the recent shootings, police and apartment managers have initiated safety precautions to prevent future incidences.

Under new management, The Pointe now has managers living on-site and security patrolling the complex, said Christina Bartos, general manager with The Pointe.

Electronic locks also are being added to the common doors in the complex to prevent nonresidents from entering, she said.

“Having a specifically student-based housing company managing (The Pointe) brings a different level of understanding of what student housing needs,” Bartos said.

Chandler Crossings — which manages The Landings, The Club and The Village — sent out a letter to residents about safety precautions following the gunshots fired in June.

The basketball court, where the shots were fired, is now closed in the evenings to deter nonresidents, said Larry Viles, Chandler Crossings regional manager for Michigan and the executive director for The Village at Chandler Crossings.

The potential suspect in the gun discharge at The Village at Chandler Crossings has not yet been identified, and it cannot be determined if they were a resident or nonresident, Rose said.

Building locks are installed in The Club and are in the process of being installed at The Village, Viles said.

Bath Township police patrol the area more because of the high volume of people, Rose said.

Bath Township city officials discussed having a special assessment of the area when it first was developed to determine if more police and firefighters would be necessary to maintain the area, but the previous property owner declined, Bath Township Clerk Kathleen McQueen said.

The area does not require additional patrol, Rose said. As is, officers from up to four jurisdictions — Bath Township, Clinton County, DeWitt Township and East Lansing — might be patrolling the area at any given time, he said.

But unless officers are stationed in every building, there’s only so much police can do if residents are unwilling to report crimes and act as witnesses, Rose said.

Residents’ willingness to report crime has been an issue for Bath Township Police, not only in the Northern Tier area, Rose said. Sometimes, police respond to an incident at an apartment complex and find there have been problems for months or years that have gone unreported, he said.

“To make us as effective as we can be, we need the help of the people,” Rose said. “We get our authority from the people and we get the greatest benefit out of witnesses of crime.”

Living in the area
For Mike Strach, a resident of The Club at Chandler Crossings and an MSU graduate student who heard the gunshots at The Village in June, the safety of the area is not a concern.

“All of them have happened over random arguments,” Strach said. “It’s not like there’s been home invasions.”

Witnesses to the June 29 incident said an argument broke out and someone fired a gun into the air. No one was injured.

A resident screening process also might help prevent or lessen the number of gun-related incidents in the future, East Lansing police Chief Juli Liebler said.

The Pointe has a screening process for potential residents, Bartos said.

With a son who spends most of his time at home in their apartment at The Pointe, chemistry senior June Morris feels unsafe after the shootings in December and January.

“I think right after the incident, (The Pointe) hired night patrol, but they stopped about a month later — I never saw those guys again,” Morris said. “They changed their management and became more geared toward community activities, but that’s about it. The damage had already been done.”

With the high number of people living in the Northern Tier apartments, altercations are bound to happen sometimes, Rose said.

Still, residents haven’t been any more of a problem than in other areas, and the area still is a safe place to live, he said.

“You have one or a couple incidents that are very dangerous,” Rose said. “I don’t think that’s indicative of the entire group of residents.”

Staff writer Jesse O’Brien contributed to this report.