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UPDATE: Students traumatized after the cops fired with guns: "I've never been so sure of dying"
Two students from Rowan University were arrested Monday on campus, under the threat of a gun, after what the university said was an apparent case of mistaken identity in looking for a car used in a nearby crime.
The university said the incident had been traumatic for students and had sparked questions and worries on the campus of 18,000 students.
Around 4:45 pm Monday, a student and a student were driving near the campus when police turned on their lights and stopped them. Students parked in the Mimosa Hall car park on campus and came out of the car, hands in the air – as requested by the police.
Videos of students and nearby staff members show a collection of police cars and officers unsheathed.
This happened on the main campus this afternoon. Let's hope nobody is hurt. #RowanUniversity pic.twitter.com/fI2Rd7mJmd
– KateChem (@kate_chem) October 1, 2018
Rowan really on shit pic.twitter.com/oRblQC87WE
– Stefan (@_StefanHenry) October 1, 2018
About an hour later, the university reported to students and staff that the situation had been resolved without incident.
On Facebook, a man who said he was one of those arrested said, "Playing with my life under the threat of firearms, I can not shut up, my voice matters to me, I strongly support. If you believe in the cause, sharing for culture, everyone needs to know that this kind of harassment must stop, am I not supposed to feel safe on my campus? "
The person did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He wrote that the incident lasted for about 90 minutes.
On Tuesday, the university told NJ Advance Media that the students had been arrested after the car they were driving corresponded to the description of a 911 call that had been seen coming out of the place of an armed robbery.
"Thinking that these are the suspects of the 911 call, and thinking that they (the suspects) are armed, the police followed the protocol," said Joe Cardona Vice President of University Relations. Rowan.
HOW WILL GLASSBORO PD GO TO THE ROWAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS WITH AR15, AND DO NOT IN SAME WE TALK ABOUT IT TO WHAT IT IS FINISHED!
– cari b (@caryschumann) October 1, 2018
Cardona said the Glassboro police had initially responded to the 911 call and that campus police officers had joined shortly thereafter when the car was at a standstill.
The Glassboro Police did not immediately respond to a request for information.
Cardona stated that Rowan's alert about the incident had been triggered after his resolution, which is different from other incidents related to the emergency because the suspected suspects were in front of the police at that time.
The car park is located in an area of the campus with heavy traffic, between sports fields and a university residence.
Cardona said that the university had spoken with the students involved and offered counseling services, calling the incident "traumatic".
"They are unhappy – I mean, they just go to campus and they are greeted by the police and all those guns," he said. "We were moving forward here, there will probably be open meetings on this subject."
The student government of Rowan also issued a statement, stating that videos of the incident were circulating on social media and encouraging students to seek advice at the university's wellness center.
"Given the nature of the meeting, we understand that this content may be triggering for a number of reasons," wrote Rbrey Singleton, president of the Association of Student Associations, in an online message.
Cardona said that he was not sure that the Glassboro police found the right car in relation to the armed robbery.
Paige Gross can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross.
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