Student safety concerns after Fayetteville State robbery
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Solange Avent is concerned after her godson was robbed at gunpoint at Fayetteville State University.
"He comes running beside me, and he is like 'I got robbed Mom,' " Avent said. "Just to see him running, being afraid, and it's so dark and I'm not able to assist him; it was very terrifying."
It happened outside one of the dorms at Fayetteville State last Friday night.
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Avent, who works in law enforcement herself, was waiting for her godson to come from his room. As he walked in the dark, two men stepped from the shadows.
"They walked right up to him, and they stuck the gun right in his back, and his roommate ran and he was stuck there by himself," she said. "So he had no choice to give them what they wanted."
According to the campus police report, the two men took his wallet, credit cards, cash, and more importantly, the young man's sense of safety.
"He's nerve-wracked," Avent said. "He has changed dorms. He just really wants to come off campus."
And she worries about other students walking on campus in the dark.
"The lighting in the area where he was, was so dark, I was not able to see him come out or see where he went," she said. "So that to me was the biggest concern around the dorms. They are dark."
In an email, a Fayetteville State spokesman said the safety of students on campus is one of their main concerns. There are dozens of emergency call boxes across the campus. Campus police also offers a free safe ride program that allows students to be transported to various campus locations."
There's also a safety app students can load on their cell phones. Every college student should have this app, the university says.
Campus officials also encourage students to be more vigilant, to walk in pairs or travel in groups and to use well-lit areas. They did not comment, however, about possibly adding more lights to the campus.
