Campus Update: Junior Engineering Student Arrested After Altercation On-Campus

Grace James
Contributing Writer

On Friday, an incident occurred on campus that resulted in the arrest of a UD student. The student is a junior engineering major and is 20 years old.

The first incident occurred at 12:01 p.m. at Kennedy Union field. Workers were outside setting up tables when the student approached them and began to act strangely. He then tried to take the wallet of a contractor working outside.

The second altercation occurred a short time later at Miriam Hall. The student assaulted a business professor and public safety was called at 12:27 p.m. The motive for the assault is unknown at this time.
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When officers arrived at 12:29 p.m. the fire alarm in Miriam Hall had been pulled and people were filing out of the building. It is unknown who pulled the fire alarm or why they did so.   

At 12:31 p.m. the student was spotted fleeing the area on Stewart street when an officer began chasing him on foot. After the student resisted the police officer and tried to grab the officer’s firearm, the student was taken into police custody at 12:34 p.m.

At the time of the arrest, the police officer on the scene was carrying an assault rifle. According to Chief of Police Rodney Chatman, some aspects of the incident showed signs of being an escalated situation, which warranted a strong response from the police.

“It was wholly appropriate for the officer to have that kind of equipment when responding to a crime like this,” Chatman said.

The officers at UD were trained on how to respond to active shooter scenarios and learned that setting off a fire alarm can be used as a diversion or as a way to gather people together with the intent of harming them.

When responding to the crime, “the officer acted to protect the entire campus community,” Chief Chatman said.
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When asked what UD students should do if they ever find themselves in a dangerous situation where they feel threatened, “call [public safety] right away. Do not delay,” Chief Chatman said.

“We have problems with students delaying to call us and calling their friends first. Please, contact us right away.”

The student in question has been suspended until all the facts regarding the situation are verified.

Photo taken from Butt Construction Company.