A female Boston University student was touched inappropriately Saturday night in Warren Towers, according to an alert message from the BU Police Department.
“[The student was] inappropriately touched while she was getting off of the elevator in A tower,” the alert stated.
The incident occurred around 6:35 p.m. in the residence hall, located at 700 Commonwealth Ave., according to the alert, which was sent to Warren residents.
“[The perpetrator was] an unknown male of Middle Eastern descent, 5-foot-10, slim build, clean shaven, with close-cropped black hair, brown eyes [and] wearing a gray sweat shirt,” according to the alert.
Members of BUPD responded to the incident in numbers. Both uniformed and visibly armed plainclothes officers were seen in Warren Saturday evening.
A BUPD spokesman said no more details could be released at press time.
“We will send you updated information when it becomes available,” the alert said.
A number of students said they would have liked to see the BU alert sent sooner, rather than three hours after the incident.
“I, at least, would have liked to understand the situation a little bit better, if I was here,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore John Sullivan.
Dylan Manley, a COM freshman, said the police presence might have made students anxious.
“I’m glad they waited a little bit to make sure they knew what was going on and had all the information down, but I wish they told us why there were cops hanging out there,” he said. “It always makes you a little nervous walking through and having that much police presence.”
College of Communication freshman Marry Pivazian said she witnessed officers and the victim attempting to identify the culprit in the Warren dining hall.
“I was at the dining hall around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, and I noticed a policeman and a girl walk by our booth,” she said. “They were looking for somebody, and the girl looked sort of troubled, like she’d been crying.”
Pivazian said she overheard the officer ask if anyone looked like “the candidate.”
Students said they notice a trend of strange occurrences in Warren with a string of “peeping Tom” incidents in January and February, but do not feel less safe.
“There’s definitely trends going on, and it’s pretty creepy,” Sullivan said. “But I don’t feel less safe.”
Manley said he did not notice a trend at first.
“Hearing so many things happening is a little strange,” he said. “At first, I was kind of just like ‘it’s an isolated incident’ but now it’s kind of scary that it’s happening repeatedly.”
CAS freshman Madison Barrett said she does not feel less safe after the “peeping Toms” or Saturday night’s alert.
“I definitely check to see if anyone’s in the bathroom before I take a shower now,” she said. “But no, [I do] not really [feel less safe.]”
Sullivan said he does not think extra security measures should be taken in response to Saturday.
“I don’t know what they could really do,” he said. “Of course there’s going to be isolated incidents that they have no control over. That’s just going to happen.”
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