The University community did not receive a crime alert broadcast e-mail after the Dec. 12 off-campus mugging of a Seton Hall graduate student due to lack of information, according to Gary Christie, assistant director of Public Safety and Security.
"The incident was not reported to us, and so we did not have the facts available to send out an alert," Christie said in an e-mail interview.
According to Christie, the incident occurred Dec. 12 at 8:45 p.m. on Prospect Street, south of Irvington Avenue, which is about half a mile from campus.
CBS New York reported the graduate student, who is choosing to remain anonymous, was mugged at gunpoint. Christie confirmed this was true.
"It was reported that the suspect approached the victim, produced a handgun and demanded money," Christie said. "The victim surrendered a small amount of cash, and the suspect ran away. The victim was not harmed."
Christie also confirmed the mugging was caught on camera, and the South Orange Police Department has obtained video evidence.
According to Christie, while the victim did not report the incident to Public Safety, they did contact the South Orange Police Department.
The victim described their assailant as a black male of average build who was wearing dark clothing and a black hat.
According to Christie, the South Orange police are still investigating the matter.
Christie stressed the importance of reporting any incidents to Public Safety.
"We do our best to keep the community informed about these incidents when we learn about them," Christie said. "It is important that students contact Public Safety when these things happen so that we can inform the community in a timely manner."
As of press time, Christie had not returned requests for comment on whether the University will receive a crime alert e-mail now that information has been obtained.
Jessica Sutcliffe can be reached at jessica.sutcliffe@student.shu.edu.
