Handgun Photo Online Triggers Safety Concerns

A photo of a handgun in one of AUC’s classrooms was posted on the Facebook group Rate AUC Professors on March 6, sparking anxiety among students.

The photo was first published under the name “Omar Mohamed”, an account which was quickly revealed to be fake; the photo was deleted within the hour.

Mostafa Saeed, one of the group’s admins, reposted the photo as a screenshot after it was deleted.

“Students have the right to see the post or else they would have thought it was a rumor instead,” he said.

Saeed was contacted by the Security Office for investigation shortly afterwards.

“When I saw the post, I rushed to campus some time after 10 pm,” said Senior Security Director Mohamed Ebeid.

Ebeid led a team of 16 security personnel inspecting all classrooms, roofs and bathrooms in search of the gun.

Another team was dispatched to review surveillance camera footage of the gates over the past two days.

However, nothing suspicious was found.

“Nothing proves its recency; that picture could have been taken a year ago for all we know,” said Ebeid.

Since then, there has been a noticeable increase in security measures taken on campus.

On Tuesday, Ahmed Samir El Melouk informed the group that he was asked to provide a permit when he tried to enter campus after 11pm.

However, Ebeid confirmed that no new rules will be implemented, but that within a month “all the gaps” in the security system will be filled.

“The Student Union (SU) is doing all that it can without overstepping, but what’s important is that students cooperate with security instead of arguing with them,” said Chair of Political Representation Mohamed Gadallah.