Subway robbery suspect fled through campus

Christian Leonard, Editor-in-Chief • November 21, 2017

STORY UPDATED AT 4:00 P.M. ON 11/22/17

Campus Safety put the university on lockdown after sending out an emergency alert to students about the presence of a robbery suspect near the Alton and Lydia Lim Center for Science, Technology and Health on Tuesday.

SUSPECT LEFT CAMPUS

The suspect robbed a Subway on Rosecrans Avenue before walking to campus, likely to hide from law enforcement, according to Chief John Ojeisekhoba of Campus Safety. It remains possible the suspect possessed a handgun. After receiving this information through a police scanner, an officer spotted an individual matching the description of the suspect in the area of the science center. Campus Safety sent the initial emergency alert informing students of the situation at 10:54 p.m.

Campus Safety and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officers set up a perimeter around the location and lower campus, but did not locate the suspect and determined he had fled. Campus Safety does not believe the individual stole anything from campus. Students received the final alert lifting the lockdown at 11:21 p.m.

This incident came less than a month after an assault suspect entered campus on Oct. 29.

“It’s rare to have an incident like this occur within weeks [of the previous incident]. If this were to occur again in the future, we urge students to just continue to follow Campus Safety instructions. They did great last night, and that helped us a lot to manage the situation better,” Ojeisekhoba said.

STUDENTS SEEK SHELTER

Freshman theatre major Lydia Safford was leaving Hart Hall to meet with a friend to leave campus for Thanksgiving break when an officer posted outside the dorm sent her back inside. Another of Safford’s friends had expected to drive with them to a bus station, but due to the lockdown had to miss the bus.

“After the first lockdown that we had… if it’s like, ‘Oh, never mind, it wasn’t somebody,’ I’m going to be kind of annoyed,” Safford said during the lockdown. “I’m feeling a little anxious, but I think it’ll be okay.”

Freshman cinema and media arts and music major Robert Brown was walking by the science center when an officer informed him of the situation.

“A Campo officer told us to sprint to our destination, so we did, because we didn’t get the texts in time, or at least we didn’t notice it,” Brown said. “When we got back there we noticed all the alerts.”

Ojeisekhoba believes officers responded well once again to an emergency situation on campus in keeping the Biola community safe.

“We responded as trained and as planned,” Ojeisekhoba said. “That means if something’s going on in the city and it’s close by campus, we mobilize to that area and put measures in place to protect property, students and employees.”

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates. The Chimes will publish a follow-up story soon.

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About the Contributor

Christian Leonard, Editor-in-Chief

Christian Leonard is a junior journalism major whose affinity for chickens is really getting out of hand. He can often be found singing in the office, wrapped around a book, or arguing for the classification of cereal as a soup. [email protected] I came to Biola a nervous freshman, not really sure what I wanted to do during my time at university. Years of prayer and waiting seemed fruitless, until an academic counselor recommended I contact the Chimes, since I had shown a modest interest in journalism. I figured it was worth a shot, so I got in touch with the news editors. After a brief chat, I left, figuring I would write for them the following semester. I was assigned my first story a few days later. The following semester, I became a news apprentice, stepping into a full editorship my sophomore year. Through the experience, I gained a greater appreciation for the bustling community that is Biola—its students, its administration, and its culture—and a deeper desire to serve it through storytelling. As my time as news editor drew to a close, I was encouraged to apply for the editor-in-chief position, a prospect which both intimidated and thrilled me. Yet I ultimately saw it as a way to better support the publication through which God showed me His desire for my life. Now, as I oversee the Chimes, I am committed to upholding myself and the newspaper to standard of excellence, and to helping train the next generation of student journalists.