Over the past few weeks, there have been several alarming incidents that have occurred on Loyola’s campus. At around 2:51 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, an undergraduate Loyola student heard a car alarm go off outside of his dorm in Seton Court.
When he went to investigate where the alarm was coming from, he was confronted by three armed men in hoodies. He was held at gunpoint while the men stole his phone and wallet. The student was not harmed and sustained no physical injuries.
The police were alerted of the situation and swiftly came to help the student. Despite the efforts of campus police and Baltimore City police, the robbers were not caught. Campus police has taken measures to increase their presence throughout the campus, especially during early mornings and late hours of the night.
Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Dr. Sheilah Shaw Horton emailed the Loyola community ensuring the safety of Loyola’s students and a brief summary of the events of the night.
“The health and safety of our community, particularly of our students, is—and always will be—our number one priority. The Evergreen campus is already patrolled 24 hours a day and monitored through closed-circuit TV cameras. All buildings are secured by keycard access. We work closely with Baltimore City’s northern district police, and we continue to enhance, refine, and improve our existing public safety initiatives while looking for opportunities to implement new services and technology that serve a strategic public safety purpose,” the email said.
In addition to the robbery, there have also been several car break ins around the Loyola area. Only one break in occurred directly on Loyola’s actual campus at the Fitness and Aquatic Center (FAC) while the other incidents occurred on Millbrook Road. The vehicle at the FAC belonged to an undergraduate female student who was not present for the break-in but reported the incident to campus police right away.
Loyola’s Assistant Director of Public Safety Major Rufus Dawson recommended that students keep personal, valuable items out of any line of sight in vehicles. He said to “keep all valuable items at home or somewhere hidden including backpacks, phones, laptops, GPS systems, keys, any documents with personal information, and yellow envelopes that may contain or be mistaken [to hold] money or tax returns.”
Major Dawson advises students to be smart and safe when walking across campus by being vigilant and staying with other people. He encourages all students to call or alert campus police right away if anyone should see any suspicious or strange activity.
Below is the information for campus police, available 24/7 by phone or email:
Emergency: 410-617-5911
Non-Emergency: 410-617-5010, ext. 5010 from a campus phone
Escort: 410-617-5566
If you need to speak with anyone privately about any concerns about safety or how to move forward after the incidents, you can contact the Loyola Counseling Center for confidential conversation.
Feature Image: Ryan McGilchrist Photo, Courtesy of Flickr
