University of Chicago tries to ease fears after shooting

A campus thriving amid the violence and poverty that plagues much of Chicago's South Side is on alert in the wake of the shooting death of Senegalese doctoral student and two other nearby gun attacks within an hour and blocks of each other.

There was increased police presence at University of Chicago on Tuesday, and officials said they're also stepping a program that provides late-night transportation for faculty, staff and students.

Amadou Cisse, who the school said was 29, was shot and killed early Monday while walking near campus -- less than an hour after a university staff member was shot at while also walking nearby and two female students were robbed at gunpoint, police said.

University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer said in a letter to students that the school would indefinitely increase University Police car patrols after 4 p.m. and supplement car patrols with additional officers on bicycles, among other measures.

Cisse, a graduate student in chemistry, had successfully defended his doctoral thesis in recent weeks, officials said. The Senegalese Embassy in Washington said he was the son of a deceased military officer, and his mother, two brothers and a sister live in Dakar, the nation's capital.

It was shortly before 1:30 a.m. Monday that a witness saw a gunman fire a shot at Cisse's chest before fleeing in a car, police said. Police said the incident may have been an attempted robbery, although Cisse's wallet and books were left behind.

University officials who held a community meeting Monday night were asked to explain why students were not notified about Cisse's death or the other incidents for nine hours.

"We were in the process of gathering information, and we wanted to make sure that we were very accurate before we sent anything to students and other members of the university," said Kimberly Goff-Crews, vice president and dean of students.