Are Snipers on the Roof of US Colleges?
Probably, but not for the reasons you think.
I did this livestream this morning where I searched for and identified locations at University of Indiana and The Ohio State where police marksmen may be over watching Gaza protests.
This originally came from a Twitter viewer who asked me if the tweet below was real:
https://twitter.com/bluepashminas/status/1783639236266151973
However, when your profile says “Victory to the Intifada,” you answer your own question.
The reason for police marksmen may be twofold:
#1. There is a non-zero chance that agitators with weapons or suicide vests may be in the crowd. I would not put it past HAMAS or an Iranian proxy to conduct a suicide attack against their supporters, just to kill Americans or against counter-protestors.
#2. Overwatch and recording of the demonstration.
Images below:
Geolocated to: 39.1677418,-86.5251173 Covering Dunn Meadow.
The Ohio State geolocated to 39.9975857,-83.0090038 covering south oval.
FWIW, I was a weekend dispatcher at the University Police Dept while a student in the mid-1980s. On the shelf in the dispatch office, we had preplans in 3 ring binders for if a sniper incident at all of the tall buildings on campus. They had roadblock and counter sniper positions with distances and fields of fire. They were pretty detailed, but hadn't been updated in at least a decade. There was no mention of demolition and new construction around campus. Still, they were impressive and someone (no idea who) did a lot of work preparing them.
For what it’s worth, I worked briefly with facilities when I attended OSU, and this is absolutely not a new thing. Once you know to start looking at large gatherings on campus as soft targets, and what buildings certain LEOs have unlimited roof access to, it becomes normal. This is not new to this one protest, it’s just that a lot of people don’t look for it during sporting events and other larger, graduation style events.
Every time I go to a football game, I play a little game with myself to see if they still have the same positions, or if they redo sight lines due to new building construction on campus.