More Gun Violence at IUP

[Vig]

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/...26/detail.html

INDIANA, Pa. -- Officials with the Indiana University of Pennsylvania said it appears the victim of an attempted dorm room robbery was targeted simply because her door was unlocked.

Campus police sent a crime alert to students in Lawrence Hall and surrounding residences with a description of the man and reminding them to lock their doors when they're in their rooms.

"We're telling the students to reassure them again," said IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling. "You have to do that, and please be very vigilant about letting strangers into the residence halls, letting people in that you don't know."

The student said she was in her room at Lawrence Hall around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday when the man walked in and threatened her with a gun.

Once inside the seventh-floor dorm room, the gunman, reportedly looking to steal a computer, escaped empty-handed after beating the victim with his gun.

"I knew something was strange because she screamed like someone was killing her or something," said Agnes Povroznik, who lives in the next dorm room. "It was really, really loud, so I just looked at my door and she started to scream, 'the gun, he's got a gun.'"

The student was injured and taken to a hospital. The extent of her injuries was not released, but the school said she has been released from the hospital and is going home.

"It scares me because my room was robbed also, so now, you know, not only am I afraid, everybody else is afraid, you know? There's just a lot going on and I'm just ready to go home," IUP student Keisha Hampton said.

"We woke up to, like, a loud noise. And my roommate was like, 'Oh Ashley, what was that?' And I'm like 'I don't know.' So we ran to the peep hole and we heard some girl screaming. There was a man in there with like a gun. And my first instinct was to call 911 and I told my roommate to get away from the door and I called 911. And they came here in three or five minutes," said Ashley Miller, who lives in a neighboring room.

IUP police have interviewed more than 50 students who may be potential witnesses, and have posted signs looking for more information. So far, they have not named a suspect.

The aggravated assault inside the dorm is the only incident on record for IUP in the last three years. Non-forcible burglaries, when students have left their doors unlocked, have gone down from 13 in 2005, to four in 2006, to three in 2007. But forcible burglaries, where locks have been picked, have gone up from none in 2005 to 27 in 2006, to 30 in 2007.

"Crimes do happen, we are not immune to that. We're going to do everything we can to prevent future and current crimes," Fryling said.

In 2006, Team 4 investigator Paul Van Osdol was able to gain access to Wallace Hall without being noticed or even stopped. New dorms have since been built, and key cards are in use. But often times, students hold the door, not knowing who they let inside.

"I mean, you think you are being friendly. But that's really compromising the safety of people in your residence hall community," said Fryling.

One option IUP is considering is placing security in the lobbies of residence halls.

Whatever changes are made in the future, some students said they think the school should have done more to notify them about this assault.

"I never received an e-mail and I think they should have done a lot more than what they did at four o'clock this morning," Miller said.

Fryling said the reverse 911 -- which would have notified students on their cell phones -- was not used in this case because they want to use that for an emergency situation where, for instance, they don't want students to leave their rooms.

"I'm not so concerned that I'm afraid for it," said student Sharon McGinnis said, adding that the dorms are "normally" safe.

The man was described as black, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and a black bandana with a white image on it that was pulled over his face. He is approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall with a thin build.

So far, no arrests have been made.

[crakkajakka15]

Further more showing college campuses are not as safe as people make them out to be.

[ruggerio]

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/...26/detail.html

dont you mean to say more inner city youth violence or more thug violence or more gangsta rap violence or another case of RANDOM violence.
why if i beat some one with a street sign is it not " street sign violence"
it is an epidemic it is an attack upon western culture as we know it. human history and culture are headed the way of the do-do bird and the carrier pigeon. unless THE culture of destruction is stopped what will our children be faced with
anyone check out s.a. recently

[Ten*K]

guess the robber didn't know he was in a gun-free zone... maybe IUP should post more signs so he knows in the future.

[mauser]

I'm sure this has been posted somewhere on PAFOA before, but here it is again.
Create your own "gun free zone".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pGt_O1uM8

[ruggerio]

I'm sure this has been posted somewhere on PAFOA before, but here it is again.
Create your own "gun free zone".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pGt_O1uM8

thats hialrious. first time i have seen it. that spot should be run on every channel before the evening news

[Tootie]

Our son is a student at IUP but he doesn't live on campus. It's truly scary when you think of your child being away from home and having to deal with things like this. I'm glad the student that was attacked is going to be OK, but the school should have done more for her protection. This is the last week of finals, it's a crazy time at colleges and more should be done to protect the students that are still there.

[mpi]

there's no such thing as gun violence!

[Pa. Patriot]

dont you mean to say more inner city youth violence or more thug violence or more gangsta rap violence or another case of RANDOM violence.
why if i beat some one with a street sign is it not " street sign violence"
it is an epidemic it is an attack upon western culture as we know it. human history and culture are headed the way of the do-do bird and the carrier pigeon. unless THE culture of destruction is stopped what will our children be faced with
anyone check out s.a. recently

Yep...

With all these violent guns running around makes me glad all mine are passive

[Slipstik]

Our Daughter is graduating from IUP tomorrow. Luckly she's been off campus for 3 yrs. Part of the reason she's been off campus is the safety issues of living in the dorms.

PS: I think she's getting a 1911 for X-mas.....to take to grad school.

Our son is a student at IUP but he doesn't live on campus. It's truly scary when you think of your child being away from home and having to deal with things like this. I'm glad the student that was attacked is going to be OK, but the school should have done more for her protection. This is the last week of finals, it's a crazy time at colleges and more should be done to protect the students that are still there.