Police Substation Reopens At Monroeville Mall
MONROEVILLE (KDKA) -- Police officers will now be walking the beat inside Monroeville Mall.
It's being treated like a grand opening, but the ribbon-cutting ceremony actually marks a re-opening of the police substation at the mall. The old one was closed two years ago.
A violent flash-mob incident back in December followed by a shooting in February raised a lot of questions about safety. A gunman wounded three people in last month's incident.
But the politicians and business leaders who attended Friday's ceremony wanted to focus on the positive and moving forward.
"It can happen anywhere. It's not just Monroeville where things like this happen. But it happened here," said Rep. Joseph F. Markosek, of the 25th District. "We've all joined in here and reacted to what we thought should be done; to make sure when people come to Monroeville, they know they're safe."
The Monroeville police chief says increasing security at the mall has actually been in the works for months.
"So this wasn't really in response to any event, even though it's perceived to be a response to some of the events here at the mall," said Chief Doug Cole. This is something we've done since the early 1990s; we've had an officer at one time or another in the facility."
The police substation at the mall will now be open on Friday and Saturday nights.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
