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A University of Baltimore student is taking her concerns about campus safety to social media after another student was charged with threatening her and is accused of bringing a gun on campus.
The university prohibits guns on campus and said it is handling this as a serious matter. But the student whose video was posted on TikTok worries not enough is being done to protect everyone on campus.
Madison Vital, a junior at the University of Baltimore, told the 11 News I-Team that another student who she met in a class carried a gun on campus and threatened her life. She said she fears for her safety and the safety of others on campus.
“I am frightened. I am terrified,” Vital told 11 News. “He grabbed me by the back of my book bag and, like, pulled me up off my feet next to him and was like, ‘You better not be lying,’ and, ‘Remember, I can kill you in one shot.'”
Online court records indicate Jesse Francis, 29, of Dundalk, is charged with second-degree assault, stalking, handgun on person and telephone misuse.
Police at the University of Maryland-Baltimore said its officers arrested Francis on the assault charge on Oct. 10. He was released on bail two days later.
“It’s terrifying. I am scared out of my mind and even going to this extent and putting it out here in this way, I feel like I’m in even greater danger,” Vital told 11 News.
The University of Baltimore told 11 News it is keeping student, faculty and staff informed. University President Kurt Schmoke sent a message to the campus last week, saying: “University police arrested an individual on various charges, including a handgun charge. While I am unable to share more details about this episode, I can tell you that the matter was handled promptly by university police. As a result, there was no ongoing threat to the safety of our community.”
In response to the university’s statement, Vital told 11 News: “In the statement, they never said that it was a student. They just said it was an individual on campus. A lot of people felt that could mean anyone at all that set foot on the university grounds throughout the day.”
On Monday, another message mentioned respecting student privacy rights while at the same time maintaining campus safety: “There is no need to alter classes or other activities scheduled to occur on campus,” Schmoke said.
But Vital doesn’t think administrators are doing enough to ensure safety on campus.
“Especially in the world we live in right now and very common in my generation, we already fear getting shot up every time we sit in a classroom, and school shootings are so common,” Vital said.
Vital told 11 News she has not returned to campus since Oct. 5.
In the interest of transparency, WBAL-TV points out Francis is the veteran who was paired with Brooks, a service dog WBAL-TV helped to raise in 2020.
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