Nearly a week after a USC cinema student was stabbed to death in a confrontation just north of campus, police announced Wednesday that they had made an arrest in the case.
Authorities said Travion Terrett Ford, 24, was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held without bail. They said that he did not live at the address where Bryan Richard Frost, 23, was killed and that the attack was not gang-related. Police also said that they had recovered a knife they believe was used to kill the student and that they were questioning a female companion of the suspect.
Word of the arrest came as about 70 people, most of them students, attended a forum Wednesday night on crime in the area and questioned university and Los Angeles Police Department officials about ways to improve safety.
The killing of Frost early Sept. 18 prompted USC's undergraduate student leaders to convene the campus gathering at Bovard Auditorium.
"It's an opportunity for students to voice their concerns and for university administrators to listen and talk to them," said John Legittino, a student government spokesman.
An announcement by LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith that an arrest had been made was met with applause and expressions of relief.
"I think it's tremendous news," said Michael L. Jackson, USC's vice president of student affairs. "I hope it gives comfort to students that this person is no longer at large in the community."
Jens Midthun, undergraduate student body president, said he thinks "everybody will be happy to know he's been caught. At the same time, this is not going to bring Bryan back." So, Midthun said, it is important to continue to improve security at the campus.
Students at the meeting asked questions about staffing levels of campus police and about response times to emergencies and complained about long waits for campus transportation. Campus Police Chief Carey Drayton said his department had increased patrols in the area. He also said he had been urging city officials to improve lighting on side streets near the school but "with very little success."
Police and USC officials also urged students to help increase their own safety by not walking alone at night, avoiding confrontations and taking no unnecessary risks.
The university announced a new arrangement with the Yellow Cab company, effective Oct. 1, that will make it easier for students to call for a taxi late at night and allow them to use their campus debit card to pay for it. USC already offers free escorted rides in the surrounding neighborhoods late at night, but students have complained of long waits for these so-called campus cruisers.
