The Cornell Police are investigating an incident in which a graduate student observed a subject on North Campus with what she believed was a dark-colored handgun, according to a crime alert e-mail sent to the student body on Friday morning. The incident, which was reported to the CUPD on Sept. 16 at 7:55 p.m., occurred on Sept. 14 at approximately 7:50 p.m. as the student was walking near Appel Commons on Cradit Farm Drive.
The CUPD is obligated to alert the campus on major offenses in adherence to the federal Clery Act and deemed this incident important enough to send out the crime alert e-mail, according to Linda Grace-Kobas, director of Cornell News Service.
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. All public and private institutions of postsecondary education participating in federal student aid programs are bound by the law.
The student reported the subject as a white male, 30-50 years of age, 5’8″ to 5’9″, with short dark-colored hair graying on the sides. He was last seen walking on Cradit Farm Drive toward Thurston Avenue, the e-mail stated.
There have been no other calls about the incident, Grace-Kobas said, although the CUPD continues to be on alert.
Cornell Police are also continuing to investigate reports of the “Collegetown Creeper,” who may have struck again last week. The incident — in which a student awoke to the sound of someone in her apartment — occurred at around 4 a.m. Thursday on the 100 block of Linden Avenue, Sgt. Joan Russell of the Ithaca Police Department told The Ithaca Journal. The student reported that her bedroom door was locked and the intruder did not gain access to her room, though the intruder did spend several minutes walking around the student’s residence, the Journal reported on Saturday.
Thursday’s incident fits the pattern of the Creeper’s activities and would mark his 18th overall intrusion as well as the third one to occur on the Linden Avenue block in less than a year, the Journal stated.
Cornell Police reminds and encourages anyone observing suspicious activity on campus to call the CUPD at 255-1111 as soon as the incident can be reported. Suspicious activity observed off-campus should be reported to the Ithaca Police at 272-3245. In emergencies, call 911.
Archived article by Erica Temel
Sun News Editor