Female SRU student threatened at gunpoint

A female Slippery Rock University student was threatened with a gun at the University Village apartment complex on Friday, Oct. 21.

The student's name is being withheld on the recommendations of Pennsylvania State Police, who believe that the incident might be gang related.

The threat occurred when the victim left an apartment in her building at the University Village and found a group of college-aged males outside in the hallway.

"One of the guys grabbed me and started pulling on my clothes," the student said. "I told him not to touch me but, he wouldn't listen."

The male then asked her to come back to his place, but she said no and he became upset and frustrated according to the victim.

"He pinned me up against the wall," she said. "And then he said, ‘if you don't (have sex with us) I'll shoot you'."

She didn't believe the assailant's threat that he had a gun and laughed, trying to call his bluff.

"I started laughing and said that he wouldn't shoot me," she said, not taking the threat seriously at that time. "But then he pulled out a gun and put it to my head."

The situation finally became real and her instincts took over.

"I hit him in the face and made his nose bleed," she said. "And then his friend pushed him off of me and told him that he couldn't go back to jail."

She was able to get away from the first gunman after that and went for the front door of the building, but was stopped by another one of the men before she could get out.

"He pushed me up against a wall and said that he hasn't been to jail yet," according to the victim. "But there's a first time for everything, and then he pulled out a gun too."

He then took her room key from her and warned that if she didn't leave with them, that they'd come back for her.

While the men had her backed up against the wall, she was able to send a text message to one of her neighbors for help. After she sent the text, her neighbor came out in the hallway to see what was going on.

"When he opened his door, they let go of me," she said. "That's when I was able to get away and back into the apartment."

She notified the people in the apartment that there were men with guns outside, and for everyone to be careful. The security at the University Village responded to the scene, but by the time they got there, the assailants were already gone. The security then contacted the state police, who came to take statements and assess the situation.

The state police advised her not to let her name be tied to the incident because they believe that it could be gang related, and retaliation is possible. The police also advised her to stay at home for a while until things got straightened out, and to take extra precautions, according to the victim.

The University Village enlarged its security force and is looking into adding more security cameras to ensure that an incident like this doesn't happen again.

State police have an ongoing investigation looking into the incident, but no arrests have been made according to the student.