UNLV plans reopening of Beam Hall months after shooting

UNLV President Keith Whitfield said Tuesday that Beam Hall could reopen to students as early as the fall semester.

In December, the building was the scene of an attack by a gunman who killed three professors before dying in a shootout with university police, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Certain staff were welcomed back to the facility this semester, but classes were relocated.

In Tuesday’s announcement, Whitfield wrote to the UNLV community that the building would undergo security enhancements.

He said additional security cameras would be installed, and that access to floors three through five would be limited, including key access for the elevators.

Whitfield said a security guard would be posted at the entrance.

“These initial efforts will be completed before Beam Hall would open again to the public and serve as a pilot for future enhancements to other campus buildings,” Whitfield wrote. “As we continue our discussions with faculty, staff, and student leaders about the eventual reopening of Beam Hall for classes as soon as this fall, I want to make it clear that we’re doing so with care and concern for the physical and emotional needs of everyone who works in or visits the building.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.