Man tries to break into residence lounge
“This kind of activity, we in the community and students shouldn’ t have to live within today’ s society.
ANDREW PARR UBC’S MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STUDENT HOUSING AND HOSPITALITY SERVICES
UBC has sent a warning email to students who live on campus after a man attempted to break in to a residence lounge where a female resident was studying.
The incident happened Friday at 2 a.m. outside the Marine Drive Building 5 lounge, where a male was seen pressing himself against the exterior window.
The man tried to enter the building but was unsuccessful, and the resident fled, said managing director of student housing and hospitality services Andrew Parr.
“She looked up from her studies, saw this individual doing what he was doing, quickly packed up and left,” he said in a phone interview Saturday.
RCMP and campus security were called and arrived quickly, but were unable to apprehend the man. The resident wasn’t able to provide a strong description of the suspect, Parr said.
“I think she was more focused on her own safety and obviously was a bit traumatized by the situation, and wanted to leave the area as quickly as possible.”
It’s unclear whether the incident is connected to a recent series of “night prowler events” where a man was seen lurking in bathrooms and bedrooms at UBC residences, Parr said.
Police have said the night prowler incidents may be connected to the sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman on campus last week. The woman was walking alone when a man came out of a wooded area, grabbed her and forced her to the ground.
Following the attempted breakin early Friday morning, the university sent warning emails to the 9,500 students who live in campus residences, said Parr.
The email was customized for different residences and reminded students to lock doors and accessible windows and to follow the procedure for reporting suspicious activity.
It also advised students to use new security measures including the UBC Blue Phone network that connects directly with to campus security.
Parr said these incidents were “completely unacceptable and frustrating to UBC.”
“This kind of activity, we in the community and students shouldn’t have to live with in today’s society,” he said.
“We are doing everything that we can, and are working with the RCMP, to ensure that this individual or these individuals are caught and, from my perspective, appropriately punished.”