Spring Break
'Suspicious man' prompts concern on Albany campus, student located
Student concealing cylindrical object found after calls to police, man was unarmed
Dan Traylor
Issue date: 5/14/07 Section: News
ALBANY - Reports of a suspicious man wearing a trench coat and trying to conceal a long, cylindrical object prompted the lockdown and evacuation of the Linn-Benton Community College campus in Albany on the morning of May 11.
The man, a 27-year-old LBCC student, was later located in his yoga class, Albany Police Capt. Eric Carter said. The man did not have a weapon and was released after investigators interviewed him and searched his vehicle. The object was not found.
The incident began at 8:45 Friday morning when a student called Albany police about the man. By 9 a.m. the campus was in lockdown and police were searching the area and evacuating students from buildings deemed safe.
"At this time it just looks like a heightened sense of awareness on the part of the students," Carter said. "We think it's appropriate. We don't want to overlook something in light of what happened at Virginia Tech."
Carter said the reaction was prompted because of the "tandem" of the man wearing a trench coat and the reports of him trying to hide something. He said more than one student reported the suspicious activity.
Four law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, Carter said. He praised the cooperation among the agencies and college officials.
Carter stressed that the false alarm does not mean people should shy away from reporting suspicious activity.
"We don't want to discourage people - if they see something suspicious [they should] report it and let people like law enforcement and campus security determine how it's responded to," he said. "We need to be hyper-vigilant."
The man, a 27-year-old LBCC student, was later located in his yoga class, Albany Police Capt. Eric Carter said. The man did not have a weapon and was released after investigators interviewed him and searched his vehicle. The object was not found.
The incident began at 8:45 Friday morning when a student called Albany police about the man. By 9 a.m. the campus was in lockdown and police were searching the area and evacuating students from buildings deemed safe.
"At this time it just looks like a heightened sense of awareness on the part of the students," Carter said. "We think it's appropriate. We don't want to overlook something in light of what happened at Virginia Tech."
Carter said the reaction was prompted because of the "tandem" of the man wearing a trench coat and the reports of him trying to hide something. He said more than one student reported the suspicious activity.
Four law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, Carter said. He praised the cooperation among the agencies and college officials.
Carter stressed that the false alarm does not mean people should shy away from reporting suspicious activity.
"We don't want to discourage people - if they see something suspicious [they should] report it and let people like law enforcement and campus security determine how it's responded to," he said. "We need to be hyper-vigilant."
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Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 7
Eduardo Molinillo
posted 5/15/07 @ 6:12 AM PST
Fishing rod case, billard cue, umbrella...? Can you say: "A nation gone totally paranoid"? This is exactly what is needed for Big Brother to take over complete control of everyday activities, "for your own good. (Continued…)
Alice
posted 5/15/07 @ 8:36 AM PST
A cylindrical object under his trench coat, and he was on his way to yoga? I'm guessing it was his yoga mat.
Hyper-Vigilante
posted 5/15/07 @ 9:06 AM PST
Hmmm ... student located in his yoga class ...wild guess here, but maybe a rolled-up yoga mat??
Jack
posted 5/15/07 @ 9:19 AM PST
Could the object have been a yoga mat, perhaps?
Henry Thoreau
posted 5/15/07 @ 9:22 AM PST
Wow. While I can't say I know exactly when this country started rapidly sliding into fascism, events like these only affirm the direction we're going. (Continued…)
trevor
posted 5/15/07 @ 7:09 PM PST
bong?
jant
posted 5/15/07 @ 8:36 PM PST
I bet he was embarassed to be seen going to yoga, so he was trying to hide is yoga mat lol. I have a yoga mat and a couple of carrying bags for it and I suppose it could be mistaken for a weapon case of some sort if you were trying to hide it under a coat. (Continued…)
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