San Jacinto College eyeing nearby memorial's 'potential safety concerns' for Thursday campus closure
The Central Campus is located just near Grand View Funeral Home and Memorial Park, where Ramiro Sosa's service is set.
PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- When Ramiro Sosa and two other motorcycle riders were shot and killed earlier this month on I-45, an expert in outlaw biker clubs said they were on their way to funerals for fallen members killed in Oklahoma City.
It appears Sosa's own memorial on Thursday will require not just a large law enforcement presence but also the closure and evacuation of a nearby college campus.
San Jacinto College-Central is closing at 2 p.m., with all in-person classes, offices, meetings, and activities canceled from that time onward.
All students and staff are needed off the campus by 2:30 p.m., when its gates close and no traffic will be allowed on and off the campus. San Jac urged people to plan to exit onto Fairmont Parkway to avoid the anticipated traffic on Spencer Highway.
The college cited a large memorial service at Grand View Funeral Home that is expected to impact traffic. Officials also cited the large footprint of the service, potential safety concerns, and a large law enforcement presence on and around the Central Campus.
The closure doesn't apply to San Jac's North and South campuses.
More information on the college campus closure can be found on the SJC website.
While the college did not specifically mention what about the memorial is creating the need for the closure, or who it's for, Eyewitness News learned Sosa's memorial is set for Thursday, April 27, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Grand View.
Sosa was one of the three people gunned down in the Huntsville area on April 14. Investigators acknowledged the group appeared to belong to a motorcycle gang based on various clothing and insignia that the victims wore.
Steve Cook, an expert in motorcycle gang investigations, said the shootings were a retaliatory attack following a deadly shooting in Oklahoma City earlier in the month. The Bandidos were headed to Oklahoma City for the funerals, which created an opportunity for a rival gang, the Homietos, to strike, according to Cook.
The shooting wasn't the only one that targeted motorcyclists that day. About 40 miles down the interstate, in Montgomery County, shots were fired on two people, killing one of them. Authorities said there are possible ties between the two incidents.
