UPDATE: 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 11
Colorado State University’s Public Safety Team sent out an email at 12:00 p.m. Saturday alerting the campus community to the recent assaults. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warning about the series of assaults and while some news reports have stated that one of the assaults occurred on campus, the email confims that “CSUPD has not received any reports of assaults on campus that may be potentially related.”
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The safety team asks the campus community to remember the services CSU provides to keep students safe, including SafeWalk, a service provided by CSUPD that provides a safe escort across campus after dark and RamRide which is a student-run program that offers safe rides home to anywhere within city limits. SafeWalk can be reached at 970-491-1155 and RamRide can be reached at 970-491-3333.
The Public Safety Team also provide a list of safety tips listed below:
“It’s always best to keep your doors and windows locked when your home or residence hall room is unattended. Keep your curtains drawn for privacy.
Report to police anyone who is behaving suspiciously by calling 911 from campus to reach CSUPD, or 911 off campus to reach Fort Collins Police Services.
In all situations, be aware of your surroundings and the people you are with, and leave a situation if it is making you uncomfortable.
Take care of yourself and others. Make sure someone knows where you’ll be and who you’ll be with. Trust your instincts. When you feel uneasy, get out of the situation immediately and help friends who also mayneed to get out of a situation.”
10:00 p.m. Friday, October 10
A man fitting the description of the male suspected of the past attacks in Fort Collins was spotted near the District and the Zeta Tau Alpha house Friday evening, according to a Facebook message sent out by the sorority’s house director.
The message, written by the Zeta Tau Alpha House Director Debbie Scott, was sent out to all Greek Life chapters on campus. Scott spoke on the behalf of a member of the sorority who witnessed the man.
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According to the Facebook message, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority saw a man peering into the windows of the District apartments as well as lurking in the surrounding area around 7 p.m.
The man was said to be a Hispanic male in his 30s, with a shaved head and mustache with a soul patch, which matches the police description of a man who has allegedly perpetrated seven sexual assaults in the last six weeks. He was seen leaving the premises in a 2005 Honda Accord with the licence plate F112681.
In the Facebook message, the sorority said they filed a report with the Fort Collins police, and as a result, there will be extra patrol this evening in that area.
The message suggested that everyone use the buddy system tonight and be aware of their surroundings. If this man is spotted, report it to the Fort Collins police immediately.
The member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority was unavailable for comment on this incident. The Fort Collins Police Department had no information regarding the incident as of 9:50 p.m. Friday.
Collegian Reporter Danielle Jauregui can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @danij27.
