A suspicious man was reported taking photos of a student from his car.
A student was walking from The Market at Alvin’s to Cokesbury Court Apartments a few minutes before 1 p.m. Tuesday when a man in a black Cadillac SUV rolled down his window and began to take photos of her with his phone.
“I was walking by myself when a man stopped his car with the window rolled down and took a picture of me,” she said. “He kind of rolled a little bit forward as I continued to walk, but he still sat there for a second and watched me continue to walk into Cokesbury until he drove around Methodist.”
The student said she was unable to identify the man.
“I didn’t really see his face because his phone was right over it,” she said. “He was definitely a middle-aged white man with dark hair, and that was really all I could get.”
Lieutenant Rusty Pyle said OCUPD is actively searching for the man.
“When we got the call, myself and another officer responded. We were there in less than two minutes, so we got there pretty quick,” Pyle said. “We drove the campus for probably 30 minutes and were never able to find the car. We don’t know where this man went, we don’t know what he was doing or why he was taking pictures.”
The police currently have no leads as to who the man is, Pyle said.
Pyle said he urges students to report suspicious incidents as soon as they happen.
“If any students see someone taking pictures of anything on campus and it is obvious that they are not a student, call OCUPD’s emergency number immediately and let us know,” Pyle said. “We need to find out why they are doing it and take action right then.”
Pyle said students should also try to get a photo of the license plate, driver or vehicle.
“As you’re moving away from the car, try to get a picture of the tag number, vehicle or driver,” Pyle said. “Anything at all will help us find the suspect.”
The student said she regrets not taking a photo when it happened.
“Looking back on it, I wish I would’ve took a license plate picture or taken a picture of him back,” she said. “But, in the moment, I didn’t feel like I could do something like that.
The student said she wants to inform other students about the incident so that they can be cautious.
“I feel like it’s important to tell other students about it because, as a woman on this campus, I would want to know if this happened to someone else,” she said. “It’s an invasion of privacy.”
Students may call OCUPD at 405-208-5911 for emergencies or 405-208-5001 for non-emergencies.
The student said she is thankful that OCUPD responded quickly.
“I’m glad that I called OCUPD and that they took me seriously, because who knows what else that man wants to do or could do,” she said.
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