MILWAUKEE — Students at Marquette University can finally breathe a sigh of relief after getting the highly anticipated update that the man police say assaulted a woman near campus has been arrested.
"The campus police are really good about informing us about that stuff," said senior Margot Wage.
On Sunday, students and faculty were alerted that university police were actively searching for a man, who has yet to be identified, after receiving reports that he had been threatening and striking women in the area. And although he's now in custody, some say it's a chilling reminder for students to always be aware of their surroundings.
"It definitely makes me feel like I have to be a little more cautious if I know there aren't going to be other students or other individuals around campus," said Wage.
"Last year I had a friend who was a freshman and she was a girl, and she got robbed, and it's just so sad because she was walking by herself. Every time I'm walking out at night, if somebody's walking by themselves, I'll try to walk with them, because you know it is scary out here," said sophomore August Peterson.
"You kind of have to be looking back and be alert at all times. Some people close to me have mace or even a little taser, and stuff like that," said sophomore, Nirel Lougbo.
Taking a closer look at the most recent crime statistics: TMJ4 found that between 2017 and 2019, a total of five aggravated assaults took place on campus, compared to 10 in the surrounding area off-campus. Advertising major Margot Wage says she had a scary experience nearly two years ago, where a person assaulted her on campus.
"It was during a time when there weren't a lot of people around, later in the evening, and someone kind of approached me and had grabbed me," said Wage.
If students ever feel like they're in a dangerous situation, they're urged to use one of the 450 blue light phones that are placed around campus, or open the university's Eagle Eye app, which connects them directly to MUPD and sends their location in real-time.
"I do have the app, it was definitely something that was recommended when we first got on campus. It's good knowing that you do have the phones around campus in case you do need to get to it," said Lougbo.
University officials add that charges are pending with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office against the suspect who's now in custody.
