BU Police, Residence Life officials address South Campus safety concerns in community meeting

Boston University South Campus residents were encouraged to attend a Zoom discussion about security issues Friday, which was hosted by the BU Police Department and Residence Life. This meeting follows another South Campus break-in that occurred at 96 Mountfort St. Wednesday.

Three previous incidents involving an unidentified intruder in South

Campus residences have been reported since Jan 27.

Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life David Zamojski moderated the Zoom panel and read out student questions to the participants.

BUPD responded to a call at 12:06 a.m., when residents of 96 Mountfort St. reported an unauthorized intruder in their room, according to a “Timely Warning” email sent Wednesday

Another student later saw the suspect in the hallway where he “was observed exposing himself” before fleeing the scene.

BUPD Chief of Police Kelly Nee said the residents of 96 Mountfort St. were able to give a description of the intruder.

The “Timely Warning” email described the suspect as “male, late 20’s, early 30’s, medium complexion, no mask, facial hair, possibly wearing a green ball cap.” He was also described as wearing dark clothing with a dark backpack.

Nee added that a witness “thought the suspect was masturbating in the hallway.”

Detective Lieutenant Kelley O’Connell said BUPD has been attempting to use video from campus systems to create a description of the suspect.

“We’re able to get a shot of an individual we have of interest, and we have put that out to the Boston Police as well as Brookline, to see if we can get any identifying information on him,” O’Connell said. “It’s still a very active investigation.”

A lack of video evidence and witnesses were the main obstacles to solving the case quicker, she said.

“We do not have enough in terms of recognizable facial features to make any determination,” she said.

However, O’Connell said because a student’s wallet was taken, the police knew a card from that wallet had been used in the area of 726 Commonwealth Ave.

In response to students’ questions about installing security cameras in South Campus, Nee said it is something BU is looking into.

“Better cameras possibly could have helped on this case,” she said.

Nee said BUPD did a walkthrough Thursday to assess the best place for new camera installations. A camera by the entrance captured how the suspect entered, she said.

“We have on video that the suspect ‘piggybacked’ or ‘tailgated’ somebody into a building,” she said. “That’s a very common way that some of these people get in. It’s our human nature to be helpful and cooperative.”

Nee encouraged students to refrain from allowing strangers to walk into residences behind them and to contact BUPD if they are feeling uncertain.

“We need to work together as diligently as possible,” Nee said, “to make sure that we’re not propping doors open, we don’t allow piggybacking or if somebody gets in with you and you’re just not sure, please don’t be embarrassed by that. Just call us.”

O’Connell said students need to be conscious of their actions to deter criminals from targeting them.

“The criminal has to have the desire to commit the crime, the target they want to commit the crime at and the opportunity,” O’Connell said. “What we can work on together is the opportunity.”

She said South Campus is a “target-rich environment” for criminals — one where students hold doors open and feel comfortable leaving the building without locking up.

“It’s a relatively safe city,” she said, “but we’re not immune to the crime that permeates throughout the city.”

O’Connell said it is possible there could be more than one individual responsible for the break-ins because the physical description of the suspect is not yet clear.

Zamojski relayed another question raised by students on whether the community should be concerned purely about theft or the possible sexual intentions of the person or persons committing the break-ins.

Nee said they trusted the witness’ observations regarding the previous incident on Mountfort Street and it had made the break-in particularly worrying to BUPD.

“There’s no doubt about what they observed,” Nee said. “Hopefully we don’t see it again, but that has certainly raised it to a level of great, great concern for us.”

Despite her 35 years on the force, Nee said she still feels a sense of “super vigilance.”

“As a woman myself and being in environments that I’m not completely comfortable with,” she said, “I’m always super cautious about just going directly to my room, having my key in my hand, locking the door right behind me.”

A beneficial tactic for students facing an intruder is to draw the attention of others in the building to scare the intruder off, Nee said.

“If you open your door and someone is in the room, get out, run, call the police, scream, scream your head off,” she said. “I don’t care if you’re a six-foot-seven star football player, scream your head off. Call attention to yourself.”

The greatest concern of these intruders was avoiding arrest, Nee said, which they prioritize over harming victims.

“Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time,” Nee said, “they are going to flee because they do not want to be caught and they do not want to be identified.”

Emma De Jesus, a crisis intervention counselor with BU’s Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center, noted students’ concerns and said anyone looking to discuss their feelings should contact SARP — especially those feeling “trapped” in their rooms.

“We’ll figure out a plan, but also just support and validate you because that’s not a crazy feeling,” De Jesus said. “That’s a feeling that makes a whole lot of sense right now.”

Juneau Wang, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he hopes BU addresses the security concerns of all students on campus.

“I think if they also just had a more general statement addressing the entire community regarding safety protocols that they usually would encourage,” Wang said, “I think people would need to hear that.”

Associate Director of Residence Life Corinna Cusson, a South Campus resident herself, said she encouraged students to report any previous crime that went unreported so the University can establish a clear history of events. She added it was important for students to take precautions going forward.

“I can’t emphasize this enough,” Cusson said, “Please make sure that you’re locking your doors at all times, even if you’re stepping out of your apartment or room even for a moment. Please do not let anybody into the building that you don’t know lives there.”