A HawkWatch alert was sent to the campus community on Oct. 29 after four students reported being chased by an unknown male near campus. A follow-up alert was sent on Oct. 30 stating the police do not believe there is any threat to the community.
According to the initial university-wide alert, the students stated they were leaving Starbucks on the 500 block of East Third Street around 12:58 p.m. when they heard a male voice yell “Run!” They told police the male chased them on Fillmore Street, the Greenway, and south on Polk Street to Fourth Street, and the initial alert provided a detailed description of the male.
The follow-up alert states the man was identified via video footage and interviewed, and it was determined he had a different perception of the events than the students.
“The man told police he yelled at the students when he thought they were in danger of being hit by a nearby vehicle,” the university wrote in the follow-up alert.
While running away, one of the student’s slippers fell off, and according to the follow-up alert, video footage supported the man’s statement that he briefly followed the students in an attempt to return their lost items.
“No physical contact or assault occurred,” the alert reads.
Comment Policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to refuse the publication of entirely anonymous comments.