The rumors are circulating. Fingers are being pointed. UNICCO? FSU fans? One of our own students?Â
Whatever the truth about the brutal murder and mutilation of one of our beloved crocodiles may be, there might be some more important issues to look at. For example, is it simply irony that the croc’s body was found behind the building that houses the University of Miami Police Department headquarters? Maybe the assailant(s) is mocking the department. As the school has pushed for more security procedures, students have been jumped, robbed and held at gunpoint and now this – it would almost be humorous if it weren’t so gruesome.
All possibilities aside, there is no mistaking what happened. This is one of the most horrid events to occur on our campus. To the police, if parts of the investigation are being kept under wraps, unwrap them. Students need to know what’s going on. Ten thousand outraged and united undergraduates are powerful crime-fighting tools. As information is collected and the necropsy is released, the university community needs to be kept in the loop
If the campus police don’t know more, it an embarrassing situation. It’s impossible for students and faculty to ask for campus safety to stop every crime that could possible happen, but for such an elaborate and gruesome event to occur practically a stone’s throw away from the front door does not instill confidence. While the crocodiles aren’t tuition-paying students, they are members of this campus, and deserve some kind of protection
Finally to the demented, depraved and downright immoral human or humans that caused this shame, enjoy the fruits of your labor. It will not be long until you receive the maximum $5,000, five-year sentence laid down by the state of Florida, and the federal prosecution that will go along with it.
If you have any information, please contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922. Calls will be kept confidential, and could potentially take a dangerous person off the streets. It’s the least we could do.