University of Wisconsin-Madison students across campus received an email from campus officials Thursday titled, “Timely Warning,” which informed them of serious crimes that took place on and around campus from Sunday to Wednesday, including an armed robbery and a sexual assault.
The email blast came as a result of the federal Clery Act, which requires universities to disclose information about severe crimes that occur on and around their respective campuses. Students will see more “Timely Warning” emails from campus officials in the future as additional high-level crimes are reported, according to University of Wisconsin Police Department Public Information Officer Marc Lovicott.
Lovicott said the university has sent out emails to the student body similar to the new emails in the past, but he said university officials will begin sending them out more regularly.
“This is really the first time that we have done something like this and the university has done this, but they’ll be coming out more regularly when incidents rise to that level and that occasion,” Lovicott said.
The email students received Thursday described three campus-area crimes, including an assault on Sunday, a sexual assault on Wednesday evening and an armed robbery on Wednesday evening. In the assault, a student was knocked unconscious outside of Sellery Hall. The students involved in the sexual assault knew each other prior to the assault, which took place “in a residence,” according to the email. Additionally, in the armed robbery, two UW-Madison students were robbed at gunpoint and had their electronics stolen on the 1900 block of University Ave.
Lovicott said UWPD is still actively investigating the assault and sexual assault cases, and is collaborating with the Madison Police Department on the armed robbery case. More information will be released about the cases as it becomes available.
