The UC Police Department (UCPD) arrested 23-year-old courier Menooa Azizian for possession of a loaded firearm inside a vehicle parked on campus last Thursday, May 24, at 3:28 a.m.
According to police records, a Residential Security Officer (RSO) discovered the firearm while conducting parking enforcement near Lot 201 by Peterson Lecture Hall.
Azizian was arrested on six charges, including: carrying a loaded, stolen firearm in public, carrying a firearm on school grounds, possession of controlled substances, and possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted person.
While the reasons for Azizian’s previous conviction(s) before this arrest are unclear, a Menooa Azizian of the same age was “considering a career in law enforcement” in a 2014 Los Angeles Times article about the community police academy program in Burbank, California.
This is the second arrest this month related to a loaded firearm. There have been five total firearms arrests at UCSD between 2012 and 2016, according to annual UCPD reports.
On May 2, UCSD student Xue Ju Huang was arrested in Lot 206 at 11:19 a.m. on charges of carrying a loaded firearm in public, vandalism, and possessing a loaded firearm on campus.
Outgoing 2017-18 ASUCSD president Lesly Figueroa believes this second report raises questions about campus safety. “Why are folks bringing firearms to campus, [and] how is police finding out about them? I’m reading communications with police will be even more necessary because of firearm exposure to the campus and political circumstances surrounding gun violence,” she said.
UCPD did not provide comment on either arrest. Students, faculty, and staff can enroll in UCPD’s emergency notifications system through TritonLink.
Isabelle Yan is the Managing Editor for The Triton. Editor-in-Chief Mo Al Elew contributed to reporting.