Central Virginia Community College issues campus alert for person of interest

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – The Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) issued a campus alert regarding a suspicious person of interest.

According to CVCC, two women were approached by the unidentified man while either sitting or walking alone. The man proceeded to make comments on their appearance and asked for their phone number, address, and place of employment.

The man’s identity and his business on campus is unknown, according to CVCC.

Anyone who is able to identify the man is asked to call the Central Virginia Community College Police Department at 434-832-7700

Due to CVCC’s proximity to Liberty University, a campus alert was also issued for the school.

Liberty University shared safety tips for those who are on campus:

“ Know your resources. Who should you contact if you or a friend needs help? Where should you go? Locate resources such as, the campus police department and administration offices. Notice where emergency phones are located on campus, and program the campus police phone number into your cell phone for easy access.

Stay alert. When you’re moving around on campus or in the surrounding neighborhood, be aware of your surroundings. Consider inviting a friend to join you or asking campus police for an escort. If you’re alone, only use headphones in one ear to stay aware of your surroundings.

Be careful about posting your location. Many social media sites, like Facebook and Foursquare, use geolocation to publicly share your location. Consider disabling this function and reviewing other social media settings.

Make others earn your trust. A college environment can foster a false sense of security. They may feel like fast friends but give people time to earn your trust before relying on them.

Think about Plan B. Spend some time thinking about back-up plans for potentially sticky situations. If your phone dies, do you have a few numbers memorized to get help? Do you have emergency cash in case you can’t use a credit card? Do you have the address your college memorized? If you drive, is there a spare key hidden, gas in your car, and a set of jumper cables?

And as always, if you see something say something. We all play a role in keeping our communities safe. It’s easy to be distracted during our daily routines such as going to work, school, or the grocery store, but as you’re going about your day, if you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, say something.

Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.