The last thing any student of UNC-Wilmington wants to receive is an email, text message, or phone call from UNCWAlert.

But that’s exactly what happened around midnight on July 9^th as campus police alerted students of an armed suspect on university property.

According to UNCW Chief David Donaldson, Wilmington Police received a call from the victim of a scooter robbery at the Campus Edge apartments. The victim claimed the robbers had a gun and attempted to use it. Because of the proximity to campus, campus police officers were notified of the incident.

Sergeant Jennifer Finke was driving on Randall Drive when the scooter carrying two passengers drove by. The rear passenger of the scooter got off and was apprehended by Sergeant Finke. No gun was found.

Search for the driver and scooter continued, but the driver has not yet been found.

This incident marks the third potentially armed suspect on UNCW’s campus in less than nine months. According to student and campus resident Katie Barnes, this is actually a good sign.

“I feel a lot more safe for being alerted. I personally think it’s a little much, but I guess I’m not realistic. Maybe it’s me being a little naïve, but I feel a lot safer on campus than off.”

Chelsea Deaner, who lived in freshmen housing this past year, really appreciates the technology UNCW police are using to make sure students are safe.

“I really appreciate how adamant they are in making sure their technology is working. They test their sirens all the time. [Campus police] always makes sure that if something is going to go wrong on campus, they are prepared for it, and we know about it.”

Chief Donaldson had nothing but praise for Sergeant Finke’s actions.

“She really did just a great job. The information she had was to assume (there were) two armed individuals. They didn’t stop; she didn’t allow it to turn into a chase, she controlled herself, controlled the situation. She really did a great job with it.”

Policies for Campus Police of universities across the country changed after the shootings at Virginia Tech. Since then, UNCW has added many procedures to keep the campus safe from an attack.

After recent events such as these, it’s safe to say they seem to be working.