Campus Alert Archive
U of M

The PA System That Stayed Silent: A Football Player Murdered Outside His Apartment, and the Decision Not to Sound the Newly Installed Alert

TNshootingadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the night of September 30, 2007, University of Memphis defensive lineman Taylor Bradford, a 21-year-old business major from Nashville, was shot during an attempted robbery outside the Carpenter Complex apartments around 9:45 p.m. CDT. He drove a short distance before crashing into a tree on Zach Curlin Street and was pronounced dead at the Regional Medical Center at 10:15 p.m. CDT. The University of Memphis locked down its residence halls and canceled Monday's classes but chose not to activate its newly installed emergency public-address system, with police determining the campus was not in imminent danger.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
University of Memphis
Public R1 · TN
~20,300 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPhone
Approximate reconstruction505 chars
[Residence halls placed on lockdown after a student was shot in the area of the Carpenter Complex. Doors secured; residents instructed to remain inside their rooms. Communication delivered by Resident Assistants going door-to-door and by phone calls from Housing staff. The University of Memphis emergency public-address system, newly installed in the wake of the April 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, was NOT activated; police determined the campus was not in imminent danger because the suspects had fled.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The University of Memphis had installed a campus-wide emergency PA system earlier in 2007 in direct response to the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech shooting — but on September 30, 2007 it deliberately chose NOT to activate it
Memphis Police later said the suspects had fled the campus area immediately after the shooting, and the university decided a PA broadcast would create more panic than safety value
There was no SMS mass-notification system in routine use at Memphis in fall 2007; communication relied on phone calls, RA rounds, the campus website, and email
UPDATEEmail
Verified verbatimKFVS-12 news report quoting the University of Memphis email alert verbatim; the same passage was reported by CNN, the Associated Press, and Action News 5458 chars
The initial investigation indicates this was an act directed specifically toward the victim and was not a random act of violence. Classes at the main campus only are canceled on Monday, October 1, 2007, to allow time for further police investigation, and to ensure the well-being of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. President Raines has announced that all University offices will be open to allow students to have access to counselors and advisors.
The phrase 'directed specifically toward the victim and was not a random act of violence' was the central justification for not activating the campus PA system
President Shirley Raines's name appears verbatim in the email — she canceled main-campus classes only, keeping satellite campuses open
Bradford was identified publicly the morning of October 1, 2007, after notification of next of kin; he was a redshirt junior defensive tackle for the Tigers
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction490 chars
[Memphis Police Department announces the arrest of four men in the murder of Taylor Bradford. Investigators determined the shooting was a botched armed robbery; one suspect believed Bradford was carrying approximately $7,000 in casino winnings. The campus is no longer considered at risk; normal residence-hall access has resumed. The University of Memphis has expanded the use of TigerText emergency notification and is reviewing protocols for activating the campus public-address system.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Four suspects — Victor Trezevant, Devin Jefferson, Courtney Washington, Daeshawn Tate — were charged within nine days of the shooting after Crime Stoppers tips
The decision NOT to activate the PA system on the night of the shooting became a focal point of post-incident review; Memphis later expanded SMS alerts via 'TigerText'
The Bradford case is one of the earliest post-Virginia Tech case studies of a university choosing NOT to mass-alert despite having the technology
Context

Background

On the night of September 30, 2007 — five and a half months after the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre reshaped national thinking about campus emergency notification — University of Memphis defensive tackle Taylor Bradford was murdered outside his on-campus apartment in the Carpenter Complex. Around 9:45 p.m. CDT, two men flagged Bradford down as he was leaving his apartment, demanded money, and shot him once in the right side as he tried to drive away. He drove a short distance, lost control of his car, and crashed into a tree on Zach Curlin Street. He was pronounced dead at the Regional Medical Center at 10:15 p.m. CDT. Devin Jefferson, the alleged mastermind, had planned the robbery believing Bradford was carrying approximately $7,000 in winnings from a Tunica casino. The University of Memphis locked down residence halls and canceled Monday classes but made a deliberate decision NOT to activate its newly installed campus emergency public-address system, with police determining the suspects had fled and that broadcasting an alert would create more confusion than safety value. The decision became a national talking point in the months after Virginia Tech, when many universities had rushed to install PA and SMS systems but had not yet developed the doctrine for when to use them. The Bradford case is documented in the University of Memphis 'Memphis Massacre' campus-safety review materials as one of the earliest examples of a public R1 choosing restraint over notification — a choice that drew sharp scrutiny from students, parents, and faculty in the days that followed.
Analysis

Key Findings

Memphis had a brand-new campus-wide PA system installed after Virginia Tech — and chose NOT to activate it on the night a football player was murdered on campus
The decision was based on police determination that the two suspects had fled the area, and that broadcasting an alert would create more panic than safety value
Bradford was a 21-year-old starting defensive tackle and business major; the case attracted national attention and became part of the early post-VT conversation about when to alert
Four suspects were arrested within nine days through Crime Stoppers tips; the lead suspect had planned the robbery believing Bradford carried casino winnings
The case predates routine SMS mass notification at Memphis and is therefore documented largely through phone-tree, RA-round, and email communications
Outcome
Bradford pronounced dead at Regional Medical Center at 10:15 p.m. CDT on September 30, 2007. Four men — Victor Trezevant, Devin Jefferson, Courtney Washington, and Daeshawn Tate — were arrested within days. Jefferson, who had planned the robbery believing Bradford carried $7,000 in casino winnings, was later convicted of first-degree murder. The university came under questioning for not activating its newly installed emergency PA system, and the case became part of the post-Virginia Tech national conversation about when campuses should mass-alert.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    University of Memphis football player killed on campus - CNN
    cnn.com
  2. News
    Fourth suspect arrested in football player's death - CNN
    cnn.com
  3. News
    University of Memphis football player killed in on-campus shooting - KFVS12
    kfvs12.com
  4. Source
    A Black College Football Player is Murdered - African American Registry
    aaregistry.org
  5. News
    Defendants charged in death of Memphis football player held for grand jury - Action News 5
    actionnews5.com
  6. Official
    Memphis Massacre — Schoolroom — University of Memphis
    memphis.edu
Tags
shootinghomicidepost-virginia-techalert-system-restrainttennesseepublic-r1casualtieshistoricalathleticsrobberycarpenter-complex
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion