JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A University of North Florida student is warning her college campus about being harassed and followed on campus by an older stranger.
According to a UNF police report, the young woman called police to report an unknown person on the evening of Sept. 12.
She told police she was leaving a Club festival in the amphitheater area when an older woman approached her.
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She claims this stranger persisted to ask about Bible students and her personal information.
The student said she felt uncomfortable with this woman's demeanor and she made it difficult to walk away.
When the student tried to leave, she said, the woman followed her. Eventually, she was able to get away and call UPD.
Action News Jax is choosing to keep the student's identity private. Reporter Elizabeth Pace spoke to her on the phone but she did not feel comfortable speaking about this incident on camera.
UNF Deputy Chief Adam Brown said officers searched for this unknown woman following the report and could not find her.
He also said they chose not to issue an alert because no crime was committed and they did not feel the campus community was in danger.
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In February, Action News Jax reported UNF made changes to some of their procedure after several students were not alerted about a possible gunman on campus.
Since then, the school said it hired more employees for their emergency response system and retrained campus police.
Action News Jax spoke to UNF students about their safety on campus. Most said they felt reassured with campus police patrols and blue emergency call buttons.
A UNF spokesperson said they have 450 alert buttons throughout campus.
"We have a bunch of call aids," UNF student Sarah Kamara said. "So, let's say you're there late at night, you can call and a police officer will walk you to your car."
Brown said UNF has many programs to enhance campus safety. Several of those can be found here.
UPD provides "Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) and active shooter training to faculty and students.
Brown said UPD also has safety rangers on campus at night to provide another level of security.
"I think as long as you're aware of your surroundings, and you're aware you have your phone on you and there are blue lights everywhere, should be OK," UNF student Piper Propp said.
Cox Media Group
