This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. March 7 to reflect new information.
A man approached two female students on campus and tried to abduct them.
On student was approached outside Oklahoma United Methodist Hall. The other was also approached outside of Methodist and then again in Cokesbury Court Apartments’ parking lot.
A Blue Alert warning students to be diligent was sent at 1:49 a.m. March 7.
The first student called around 11:30 p.m. March 6. The second student reported to the police about 10 a.m. March 7.
The students involved in the incidents are safe, according to a follow-up email from Police Chief Jennifer Rodgers. Rodgers said the suspect is not thought to be a student.
“We are very thankful that our students were not harmed,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers said the first student was approached 11 p.m. March 6 by a man who said, “it’s cold, do you want a ride?” The student declined, motioning that she was walking to Cokesbury. The encounter happened outside Methodist Hall by the basketball court, according to the police report. The student was on her way home after studying in Dulaney-Browne Library, the police report reads.
The man followed the student toward the apartments’ entrance where security video shows him following another car through the gate after midnight March 7.
The man pulled around to the southwest corner of Cokesbury, driving in front of a second student, forcing her to walk around his car. He called out to her, got out of the car and approached her, calling her by an incorrect name.
The student told police that the man tried to grab her hand. She screamed and he walked away. She ran to her apartment.
Both of the students are Asian international students, Rodgers said. She said it is likely that the man targeted the students because of their small stature and because they were alone. Rodgers said people of similar stature should be hyper aware of suspicious activity.
“I said ‘no,’ and he tried to grab me,” said the student, according to the redacted narrative report. “When he grabbed me on my hand, I think he was try to take me away. Then I screamed, and he walked away.”
“We do have video footage of him leaving the area,” Rodgers said March 7 in a police media briefing. “He has not been seen since.”
The man is described as a black male, about 5’11” with braided hair tied in a bun. He was wearing blue jeans, and a black and green shirt, and he was driving a black four-door hatchback.
Rodgers said she’s proud the way the student behaved.
“She likely saved herself from being taken during this incident,” Rodgers said. “I’m very proud of the way she responded to the subject. She kept herself safe. “
Students expressed frustration March 7 about security in Cokesbury.
Rachel Weisbart, music theater junior, commented on a Facebook post regarding the incident.
“I’m going to write an email asking for more security in Cokes, and I think it would be great if others could do the same,” Weisbart wrote. “We need gate doors that require a key/code to enter, a code that changes every few months, fixing of the chinks in the gate where people can climb through, and chain locks on our doors. It wouldn’t be hard to implement these changes.”
Ashleigh Robinson, music theatre junior, is friends with the girl who was approached.
She said she received a text from her friend, explaining the situation.
“She’s safe, but she was really, really scared,” Robinson said. “She was just shaken up. She looked absolutely terrified.”
Robinson said, when she came back to the apartment, she had already called the police.
Robinson said her friend had discussed the issue of international students being at higher risks for burglaries in one of her classes just a few days ago.
“They were talking, just a couple days ago about how dangerous it is for them just to be here,” Robinson said. “No one thinks it’s going to be them. No one thinks they’re going to have to deal with that sort of thing.”
Robinson said, despite the situation, she still feels safe on campus. She also said she’s felt a lot of support around campus. She also said she feels safer with the change to the gate code.
“I’ve been really happy that everyone’s been looking out for each other because, as happy and safe as our small campus is, there are bad people in the world,” Robinson said. “It’s good to see there are good people on our campus even when the bad people come on our campus.”
Campus police are patrolling the area and working with the Oklahoma City Police Department. The code for the Cokesbury gate was changed.
Rodgers said police escorts are available to students, faculty, and staff through the campus police department. She said incidents like these are not common at OCU.
“Oklahoma City University is a very quiet campus,” Rodgers said. “We’re very much tucked away in a neighborhood here, and there have not been very many major incidents occurring.”
Students are encouraged to walk in pairs or call campus police at 405-208-5001 to request an escort. The emergency number is 405-208-5911.
Rodgers said she encourages students to reach out if they have any other information or if they feel in danger.
“I just want to make this a safe place so that we worry about the crime, and they can worry about their studies,” she said.
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