Safety concerns still linger on the campus of Oakland University after a person was stabbed multiple times last week outside of a residence hall.
CBS Detroit
Many students and community members claim that aside from the night the attack happened, they’ve received no updates from the university about the investigation.
“It’s kind of been like hush hush, like no one’s really mentioned it,” said student Avery Walter.
“It’d be nice to have a little bit more information about this kind of stuff,” student Luke O’Donnell said.Â
CBS Detroit
Students, parents and community members are pleading for answers from police on where the investigation stands.
“After they said the lockdown wasn’t in place anymore, we just haven’t heard anything,” Walter said.Â
“When I first came here, a lot of people were telling me that it’s a really safe place, and I still do agree with that to an extent, but I mean, a stabbing…really? That kind of puts a concern in my mind,” said O’Donnell.
Police say around 8:15 p.m. on Feb. 5, authorities received calls about a fight outside Van Wagoner House residence hall. They found one victim, not a student, stabbed multiple times. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Two suspects, also not students, have yet to be caught.
CBS Detroit
Since then, the university has not provided any new updates.Â
One parent tells CBS News Detroit off-camera that they’re worried about the safety of their two kids, who attend Oakland University. Other students say they feel apprehensive walking to class, especially at night.
“I wish that there was a little bit more transparency from the university. I mean, I live over an hour away from campus, so if something were to happen, I can’t just go home,” said Walter.
CBS News Detroit reached out to the university to get answers and received the following statement from Oakland University spokesperson Brian Bierley:
“We have decided not to put the police chief on camera right now for an update because this is a very active police investigation and there is nothing new for him to report at this moment. We understand the interest of our students, their parents and the public to know more and do want to share that the Oakland University Police Department is working diligently to make an arrest in this case. Anyone with information that can assist our investigation should call the OUPD. When an arrest happens, we will make the police chief available for an update to the media and the public.”
CBS News Detroit was told there should be an update regarding the investigation in a few days.
The university also says it’s still unclear why the victim and suspects were on campus and what led up to the stabbing. As far as the condition of the victim is concerned, because of patient privacy laws, that information is limited.
CBS News Detroit inquired if the university has made changes to its safety protocols since the assault. Police say no changes have been made as the department believes this incident was targeted and there’s no threat to the campus community.
Meantime, the university says it remains committed to keeping everyone safe, encourages students to report anything suspicious, and to utilize the campus safety information provided on the OUPD website.
More from CBS News