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University Of South Alabama Lockdown: Campus Lockdown Lifted Hours After Armed Robbery

04/29/12 10:44 PM ET AP

MOBILE, Ala. -- The University of South Alabama on Sunday night lifted a campus lockdown that it had imposed following an armed robbery at a college dorm hours earlier.

University officials announced on their website that campus police had arrested one male suspect and were searching for another in the robbery at gunpoint of a student.

The victim had invited the men to his room when they robbed him of $1,000 and a cell phone and fled, the statement said. A shot was fired but no one was apparently injured.

Officials believe the second robber left campus. Neither suspect apparently attends the school.

The Mobile campus sent out an alert at about 3 p.m. CDT advising students to stay indoors after receiving a report of an armed robbery at the Delta 4 residence hall.

Officials announced at about 8:45 p.m. that the lockdown had been lifted and an arrest had been made.

The school late Sunday urged students to "resume your normal activities but remain cautious and report any suspicious activity."

The school had used loud speakers, emails and a dial-in phone system to advise students to seek shelter and stay indoors.

"We did in fact do a campus lockdown," said university spokesman Keith Ayers.

The initial crime alert said "there have been reports of someone on campus armed with a weapon last seen in the housing area."

The alert went on to advise the university community to "remain inside until further notice."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The University of South Alabama locked down its campus for several hours Sunday following an armed robbery in a college dormitory, but officials say no one was hurt.

University spokesman Keith Ayers said Sunday evening that the Mobile campus issued a crime alert to students at about 3:30 p.m. CDT.

The school used loud speakers, emails and a dial-in phone system to advise students to seek shelter and stay indoors.

"We did in fact do a campus lockdown," Ayers said.

Ayers said officials issued the alert after receiving a report that two armed male suspects robbed students in campus housing.

Campus police were "working the case right now," Ayers said. "It was an armed robbery on campus...No one was hurt."

Ayers said he's not aware of any shots having been fired.

As of early Sunday evening, no arrests had been made and the alert remained in effect. Campus police were continuing to investigate.

The school initially posted a crime alert on its website Sunday that said "there have been reports of someone on campus armed with a weapon last seen in the housing area."

The alert went on to advise the university community to "remain inside until further notice."

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MOBILE, Ala. -- The University of South Alabama on Sunday night lifted a campus lockdown that it had imposed following an armed robbery at a college dorm hours earlier. University officials announced...
MOBILE, Ala. -- The University of South Alabama on Sunday night lifted a campus lockdown that it had imposed following an armed robbery at a college dorm hours earlier. University officials announced...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
pepper1311
POGS are dirt
11:20 AM on 04/30/2012
Drug deal gone wrong. Enrolled in university, live in dorm, deal drugs for a year, retire.
clarissa49
Independent Traditionalist
10:33 AM on 04/30/2012
Posters have criticized the college for locking down the campus. I am sure the officials did not
want a repeat of Virginia Tech. I am including what came after the Virginia Tech shootings.
Also, when schools get bomb threats, they are evacuated while bomb squads search the facilities.
09:43 AM on 04/30/2012
Why don't they give a description of the suspects, so they can be found.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
AlonzoQuijana
09:36 AM on 04/30/2012
I'm sorry, but have we now become so hyper-vigilant that an armed robbery places the entire campus on "lockdown" (this term used to be used only with prisons)? Armed robbery is serious, but loudspeakers? Text messages? "Seek shelter" admonitions? It seems as if we now live in a constant state of near-panic.
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philliplojek
Irritating liberals one at a time.
08:22 AM on 04/30/2012
If the armed robber was invited to the room, his name should be known.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
AlonzoQuijana
09:37 AM on 04/30/2012
Sounds like some sort of illicit transaction about to take place. Not blaming the victim, but what college kid has $1000 cash in his room?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
TMS3100
Tea Party has run off with his light saber.
09:41 AM on 04/30/2012
I'll bet you the kid was dealing.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
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09:58 AM on 04/30/2012
Have you seen the vehicles students drive? Possibly the victim had a job, so it would be reasonable that he/she would have that much money at one time.
08:00 AM on 04/30/2012
They were BLACK, there i said it.
08:51 AM on 04/30/2012
Yep, white kid trying to buy drugs from some black kids...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
snowfall20
Anthropologist at large
07:20 AM on 04/30/2012
sounds like a drug deal gone bad
04:15 AM on 04/30/2012
Why would a student have $1000 cash in a dorm room?

And how did the armed robbers know about it? I think there's more to this story than we're getting/.
07:18 AM on 04/30/2012
I was thinking the same. This sounds like a drug deal gone bad.
08:45 AM on 04/30/2012
Why does there have to be more to the story? I used to hid a lot of cash in my room and I know rich kids in my school who sometimes just leave it around.in their room maybe not exactly a thousand but I've seen kids leave 500-600 dollars laying around.
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10:06 AM on 04/30/2012
Exactly! We would always find a lot of money in coins when we cleaned our apartments at the end of a school year. Students do. not. carry. coins. Locals learned to drive by the apartments when students were graduating and moving out. They could pick up discarded furniture, groceries, cleaning supplies, etc.

Students will not even pick coins up from the table in a restaurant given in return from paying their tab.
06:59 PM on 04/30/2012
Okay, I guess I wasn't a rich kid who left that kind of money laying around.

I apologize for being wrong.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
June25
02:06 AM on 04/30/2012
But no description of the thieves.`
07:03 AM on 04/30/2012
Whenever the Media does not give you the description of the criminals they are following government guidelines. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the description.
JDSept
too much of everything is just enough
07:31 AM on 04/30/2012
Why lie/ A simple news GOOGLE will give you numerous stories of the suspect still at large being a black male. The police never release an arrested suspects race wethe rwhite or black, but eventually you usually get their arrest photos or them going into court.
07:44 AM on 04/30/2012
Looking at it on the local news now, short hair, black male, wife beater tee shirt, Norwegian camo fatigue pants.

61% female......39% male enrollment, .....61% white.....18% black ....21% other
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11:32 PM on 04/29/2012
This is Class Conditioning people. Five hours in lock down on a campus as if student are different than any other citizen. The special class of subjects applying for reduction or forgivness of loan debt as long as they submit to confinement to barracks or powdered showers. It seems higher education is aimed at making the vulnerable dumber rather than more learned.
JDSept
too much of everything is just enough
07:35 AM on 04/30/2012
If this happened in a Wal0Mart the store would be locked down if they thought the robber was still in the store as was thought the the criminals were still on campus. If they were and nothing was locked down and a students were killed and one was YOUR kid, you would be screaming as would I. We don't know where or when the suspect was caught but being so quick maybe on campus and we know one was not caught and could have been hiding on campus.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wirepaladinSF
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED-COME AND TAKE IT
08:42 AM on 04/30/2012
WHAT !?
11:02 PM on 04/29/2012
It sounds a little bit funny to me. What college student has $1000 in cash on them? I know I was lucky to have $10 on me. And the person invited these people to his room? Was it illegal activity going on? Or perhaps the guy was trying to buy something (maybe off craigslist?) from the 2 that robbed him of the money? Although, if I was going to buy something, I would likely meet them in a public place. It'll be interesting to see what actually happened.
11:28 PM on 04/29/2012
I completely agree with you! It sounds like something was up...only time will tell.
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11:56 PM on 04/29/2012
There goes the end of the semester kegger.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Dan Crabtree
10:20 PM on 04/29/2012
Did they have hoodies on?..
07:49 AM on 04/30/2012
Probably
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
allmywickedsins
09:18 AM on 04/30/2012
Does it matter? Lot of people wear hoodies. I wear hoodies. I don't rob people, and most others don't either. (and by the way, the one photo I saw of one suspect, he was wearing a t-shirt, no hoodie.. darn, huh?)
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ctc1066
10:12 PM on 04/29/2012
A very good school with a very responsive campus police dept. I live in Mobile and the University is a great community citizen. Unfortunately there have beeen several intrusions onto the campus by some minorities from a bad area across from the campus.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Baneblade
Subversive Individual
11:07 PM on 04/29/2012
Yeah, thats a native Alabaman for you.
08:42 AM on 04/30/2012
And you're an expert on Alabama.......Jackass
08:50 AM on 04/30/2012
Yeah, thats a leftie for you
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
whoBBoo
Just because you don't agree with my statement doe
11:23 PM on 04/29/2012
I didn't read anything about minorities. You AssUme that it was minorties. Being that they were invited into the dorm, I take that the person that invited them were minorities too, right?
04:25 AM on 04/30/2012
.Just a reminder, a minority in that area is White.
04:28 AM on 04/30/2012
A minority in that area is WHITE/
10:01 PM on 04/29/2012
School-wide email:

Campus Lockdown Lifted, Arrest Made

The campus lockdown issued at approximately 3 p.m. today (Sunday) has been lifted. USA Police say you may now resume your normal activities but remain cautious and report any suspicious activity.

USA Police say that shortly before 3 p.m. today, a student in Delta 4 residence hall reported he was robbed at gunpoint by two non-students whom he had invited to his room. The two individuals robbed him of approximately $1,000 and his cell phone and fled. A shot was fired but no one was injured.

This afternoon, after an extensive search, USA Police took one suspect into custody and now believe the second suspect has left campus. Neither suspect is believed to be a USA student.
The remaining suspect is described as a black male, thin build, dark complexion, and a short Afro hair style.

Anyone with information regarding this incident or who witnesses suspicious activity should contact USA Police at 460-6312.
09:37 PM on 04/29/2012
How about an accurate description of the person.