UF Campus On Alert After Four Women Attacked
GAINESVILLE (CBSMiami) - The University of Florida police are on alert after four women have been attacked on campus, or near it, in the last few weeks.
Police have encouraged female students, teachers and staff to walking together, if possible, because there is safety in numbers.
"Basically we're walking together, carpooling, some of us walk with those flashlight apps on the phone," said student Caitlyn Sorinao.
"It definitely makes me nervous. I've been just trying to stay in groups at night, more than like one person with me, big groups, and pay attention to my surroundings," said fellow student Maddie Daugherty.
Police say a man captured on surveillance video around the times the attacks took place is considered a person of interest. The last attack occurred Sunday night as the woman walked to her car from the library.
While none of the women have been sexually assaulted, they were pushed to the ground in some cases had their clothing and underwear ripped off.
"These situations that are occurring are happening in seconds, and the perpetrator is fleeing and they can blend or they can go into a building or go, maybe, home and in very quick short order," said Linda Stump with the UF police department.
Police are urging students to download TapShield, an app that can alert police by simply tapping the screen or unplugging a user's headphones from the cell phone.
"If someone's falling you, you can tap on your phone and immediately police will come. I have a lot of close female friends who are walking around campus late at night, coming from the library, so I'm just trying to spread awareness of the app, because I feel like that's the best thing I can do right now," said student Brian Joseph.
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