Some residents of Copper Beech Townhomes feel they should have received a more timely alert notification following gun shots at the complex on April 1.

On April 1 at approximately 2:36 a.m., Advanced Patrol Officer Ian Huggins of Statesboro Police Department was found deceased in his apartment at Copper Beech in what is suspected to be a murder-suicide.

According to a statement from Copper Beech, residents were informed of the incident at 3:45 p.m. 

Resident Savannah Freeman said she thinks a notification should have been sent sooner.

“I understand now that the police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s involvement in this case was particularly sensitive, but I think we should’ve received something from Copper Beech,” Freeman, senior public relations major, said.

Freeman also said this is not the first time residents have received a late notification from the apartment complex.

“I have lived in Copper for three years and it’s very apparent that resident safety is not on the top of their priority list,” Freeman said. “Our cars get broken into, students have been assaulted in the neighborhood and now someone was murdered, yet it always seems like residents are notified by Copper too late.”

Other residents such as Kadie Graham, junior psychology major, never received a notification.

“I actually found out about the incident through Facebook and was never notified about it by the complex,” Graham said.

Sarah Bonham, Copper Beech general manager, said that the safety and security of their residents is their top priority.

“Copper Beech Statesboro is part of The Scion Group since December 2017,” Bonham said via email. “One of Scion’s management principles is that if a serious incident occurs in our community, we communicate with our residents and share all pertinent information available to us as quickly as we are able to confirm it, while recognizing that details may be actively evolving.”

Emma Smith, News Reporter, ganewsed@georgiasouthern.edu