University students received a “timely warning” message via both email and text message on March 4 at 11:51 p.m. from Chief of Public Safety Steve Barilar regarding a stabbing that occurred off-campus the same night. The email informed students that the Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department (BVRPD) was investigating the incident that took place in the area between St. Louis Street and Market Street, between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

No University students were involved in the incident. According to BVRPD, this was not a random act, as the suspect and the victim knew each other. Terrel Ralick Jordan, 32, is accused of fatally stabbing Aaron David Boone, 28. Students received three more updates from Barilar, as well as a general campus-wide message explaining the situation.

The second warning from Barilar informed students that Boone had passed away shortly after the altercation. Students were told that Jordan had not been taken into custody. The email also included a photo of Jordan and numbers to contact for secure escorts and to provide relevant information.

The third timely warning informed students that Jordan had been taken into custody on March 5 around 1:35 p.m., putting campus fears to rest. According to a March 5 article written by Joe Sylvester from The Daily Item, Jordan was spotted near the Mifflinburg, Pa. police station, just a few blocks from his home. Officers quickly closed in and took him into custody.

“Suspect [Terrel] Ralick Jordan was taken into custody by Mifflinburg Police Department at their station without incident,” the BVRPD said in a news release.

Sylvester’s article clarified what had occurred after the stabbing.

“According to the criminal complaint filed with the charge, BVRP Patrolmen Bradley Miller and Terrell Lehman were dispatched to 48 S. Seventh St. after someone reported a man bleeding from the stomach. The caller said the man was outside pounding on the door, and the caller was uncertain of the conditions,” Sylvester said.

“It was really scary seeing the EMTs struggle to get the man standing and eventually put him on a gurney. A person I was with heard the man saying that he couldn’t breathe. I initially thought someone had had a heart attack,” Lindsey Ferguson ’18 said.

In the campus notification sent to students on March 6, Barilar reiterated that Jordan had been taken into custody. Students were also informed about the potential for continued police activity near the site of the incident and near campus as officers searched for evidence.

In compliance with the provisions of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or “Clery Act,” Public Safety will post “timely warning notifications” as necessary on its pages of the University website. These warnings are also sent out to students to keep them informed of emergency situations.

Barilar advised students to sign up for text alerts in addition to the “timely warning” emails. Students are encouraged to do so through Banner Web’s “Personal Information” section. In order to sign up for B-Alert campus emergency notification information, students must enter their cell phone number and service provider.