UNLV's Beam Hall to reopen this fall after gunman's on-campus attack

Classes are expected to resume in the fall at the UNLV building where four staff members were shot last December .

That's according to the latest "Rebel Recovery Update" from university president Keith E. Whitfield.

Frank and Estella Beam Hall had been closed amid an investigation into the shooting and repair of damages done during law enforcement's initial search and evacuation.

Body-worn camera footage from the day of the shooting showed that officers were unable to access many locked rooms in Beam Hall and began battering through the drywall in an effort to ensure neither shooter nor victims were concealed inside.

Beam Hall will reopen with additional security measures in place, Whitfield explained, which include:

• Access to the third, fourth, and fifth floors through stairwells and elevators will require a proximity card or stairwell key throughout the fall semester. Building occupants are encouraged to plan accordingly.
  
• A total of five video surveillance cameras have been installed in the elevator lobbies on the first through fifth floors as part of a pilot program to assess the possibility of adding them to more campus buildings in the future.
  
• A security desk has been added to the first floor atrium and will be staffed during building hours by a uniformed security officer during the fall semester.
  
• More than 130 damaged doors and/or door frames have been replaced in Beam Hall, along with another 350 doors in other campus buildings impacted during the Dec. 6 response. The building’s fire alarm system on floors three through five has also been replaced.
  
• New telephones have been installed in classrooms with enhanced emergency notification capabilities.

This work is nearing completion, and the school anticipates opening the building on Aug. 13.