UCF board member questions dorm security

ORLANDO, Fla. — As the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees met Thursday for the first time since learning a mass attack was planned on campus, one board member demanded change.

Trustee and central Florida hotel and resort mogul Harris Rosen openly challenged UCF leaders to improve safety inside campus dorms.

“This is more personal for me because my son lives in that tower,” said Rosen.

Rosen’s son lives in the same campus tower where police body cameras showed James Seevakumaran dead inside his room early Monday morning.

Seevakumaran decided to kill himself instead of carrying out a campus massacre plot.

Rosen questioned Police Chief Richard Beary and University spokesperson Grant Heston about check done inside dorm rooms.

Seevakumaran, 30, was living in the dorms and hiding two guns and at least four improvised explosive devices which police said he planned to use to kill hundreds of students early Monday morning after pulling the fire alarm in Tower 1, but was thwarted after his roommate called 911.

“The RAs have a responsibility. Their responsibility is to make sure those apartments were inspected. Clearly this apartment was not inspected,” Rosen said.

Channel 9 found out Seevakumaran was in the process of being evicted because he was he was not enrolled in classes this semester. His room was checked earlier in the semester, but UCF officials weren’t able to give an exact date.

President John Hitt argued an inspection wouldn’t have mattered.

“It was a backpack and two weapons that could have easily fit into a gym bag,” said Hitt.

Rosen responded, “Are you suggesting these were brought in that day?”

“They could well have been,” said Hitt.

Rosen responded, “Oh, I doubt that very much.”

According to university policy, officials said they couldn’t ask to see inside drawers of closets, but all aspects of the search procedure were being reviewed.

“What it speaks to is it’s very difficult to stop someone who is determined to hide these types of items from bringing them anywhere,” said Heston.

Police said some additional ammunition was found delivered to Seevakumaran in the UCF mail room.

WFTV