University Vice President and Secretary Linda Lorimer sent a campuswide e-mail shortly after noon today to share details about Yale’s response to the discovery of a body at the research facility at 10 Amistad St.
The Amistad Building will be closed today, with the exception of those who have “essential research responsibilities,” who will be accompanied into the building by a law enforcement official. Those who work in the building are being given an additional day of paid time off.
In addition to increased street patrols and a new bicycle unit in the medical school area, additional security personnel have been added to the Sterling Hall of Medicine, where Annie Le GRD ’13 was early Tuesday morning before she left to go to her lab at 10 Amistad St.
The full text of Lorimer’s message is below:
This is such a sad time as we come to grips with the news relating to Annie Le. A Candlelight Vigil in her honor will be held on the Cross Campus this evening at 8:00 p.m. University Chaplain Sharon Kugler will be sending more information about the Vigil later today.
I write now with some details about what the University is doing at the Medical School. Because all of us are interested and concerned, I am sharing this information with the entire community.
The Amistad Building is closed today so that the police can continue their investigation. Those with essential research responsibilities are being accompanied into the building by a police officer. Others in the building are being given an extra day of paid time off. I am grateful to Professors Bill Sessa, Haifan Lin and Jordan Pober for taking the lead in working with lab groups last night and to Jim Macy for arranging essential YARC services. We will know by the end of the day whether the building will need to stay closed longer and Principal Investigators will be told as soon as we know, so they in turn can inform their work groups.
We are cooperating in all possible ways with the police to ensure they find every shred of physical evidence in the building so they can solve this horrible crime without delay. When the building does reopen, there will be extra security both inside and outside the facility for the foreseeable future.
To augment the substantial security already in place at the Medical School, we moved last week to increase security and police patrols on the streets in the area and to add a new bicycle patrol. We have also added security personnel inside Sterling Hall of Medicine, where Annie Le had her lab.
In addition to the Yale Police, the full services of the University’s Security Department have been at the authorities’ disposal, and we will continue to do everything that we can to be of assistance. All security information and records for the building, as well as other relevant documentation, have already been provided.
I know I can count on you to call the FBI Tip Line at 877-503-1950 if you have any information that might possibly help the investigation.
To help us deal with this tragedy, there are additional resources available. Grief counselors and opportunities to talk to counselors, whether or not you are a member of the Health Service, are available this week; do not hesitate to call them at 432-0290. The Employee Assistance Program stands ready to offer help as well; their 24-hour helpline number is 1-800-232-6092. Also the University Chaplain’s Office (432-1128) is available to offer pastoral counseling and can put members of the community in contact with those of many faiths and denominations.
A web page will be active by the end of the day for updates on the investigation at opa.yale.edu/investigationupdate.
Today is a difficult one for the Yale community. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with Annie Le’s family, fiancé and friends.
Linda Koch Lorimer
Vice President of the University