Two female freshmen reported a suspicious vehicle after it followed the two through campus. Liana Gallyoun described the vehicle as a white minivan that started following her and her suitemate after they left Maria Hall on April 3 around 1:45 a.m.
“We were in front of the library and [the driver] was driving really slow, and as he got closer to us, he started driving even slower,” Gallyoun said. “I looked at Rachel, and I was like, ‘We should run, right?’ and she was like, ‘We should run.’”
Gallyoun said the van followed the two down Edgar Road in front of the library and into the Webster Village Apartments (WVA), where they hid behind building three until they felt safe to run to West Hall.
“I do not necessarily feel unsafe, but the fact that it happened makes me feel a little bit more weary of what is going on around me, and I feel like I’m a little bit more jumpy at night,” Gallyoun said. “Before then, like in my mind, Webster Groves was a safe community, so I never thought about it.”
Director of Public Relations Patrick Giblin said the incident was reported to public safety after 3 a.m. on April 3. Giblin said the Webster Groves Police Department (WGPD) was called and took a report of the situation. He said the incident was recorded in the incident log instead of the crime log as no crime had taken place on campus.
Giblin said a Webster Alert was not sent because it was determined there was no immediate threat to students, faculty or staff on campus. He added after a public safety and WGPD campus search, it was determined the vehicle had left the area.
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