A female NE student reported that a man tried to coerce her into his vehicle around 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29 in a parking lot on NE Campus.

The white male in his 20s with brown medium-length hair wore a white Arkansas T-shirt and drove an older-model white Jeep.

The woman, who was not identified for her safety, told The Collegian she usually parks next to her friend, but they ended up parked in different areas that day.

She said he approached her right before she got into her car and asked her for help.

“He came up and was like, ‘Um, hey, my car won’t start. Will you help me? Can you come look at it and see what’s wrong with it?’”

She declined his requests until he started to move closer.

She sat down in her own car and tried to close the door, but he held her car door and said, “No, come help me.”

She refused again and pulled her door closed, after which he cursed at her, got into his car and sped away.

She said she tried to follow him to get his license plate number, but he ran a red light to get off campus and away.

“I reported it to the TCC cops because I don’t want any other girls to fall for it,” she said.

TCC police Capt. William Ivie said he couldn’t comment on the matter because it is an active investigation.

He did say in an email that avoiding confrontation and immediately reporting what happened to police are the steps that police want the community to take should they face a similar situation.
— Dylan Bradley