Summary

UWM Police arrested a man off campus who had been in the Golda Meir Library minutes before. While in the library, he removed a handgun from a small bag, loaded the handgun, and left the library. A student witnessed this behavior and notified library staff, who called UWM Police. UWM Police used security cameras to track the man to a location off campus, and he was arrested without incident. He was transported to the to the Criminal Justice Facility.

On March 20, 2023, the man was charged by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office with carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a firearm in a public building.

Initial University Statement

UWM Police responded Thursday afternoon to reports of a man loading a handgun in the Golda Meir Library. Reports received did not indicate that that the man was acting in a threatening manner, though UWM Police still take all gun-related reports seriously, and it is a violation of state law to have a gun in a UWM building. The report came in at 1:54 p.m., and UWM Police were on site within two minutes of being notified. By the time UWM Police were notified, the man had already left the library without further incident.

UWM Police searched the library and the Student Union out of due diligence, then the search expanded to the neighborhood. They tracked the man to North Avenue and he was arrested at the 1200 block of East North Avenue. Nobody was injured during the arrest. The man remains in custody at the Criminal Justice Facility. Charges are being referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

Additional University Statements

Initial email to UWM Libraries staff (March 17, 2023)

Staff,

You may have seen or heard about a police presence in the Golda Meir Library on Thursday. Officers were responding to a report of an individual with a gun. They identified and later apprehended the suspect without incident. An emergency notification was not necessary.

I appreciate the quick response from the library staff and the UWM PD, and I am grateful that no one was physically harmed. I will be following up with the Chief of Police next week to discuss Golda Meir Library security.

This is an upsetting incident. If staff members wish to discuss it, they may contact Amanda Klug, HR Business Partner, at kinated2@uwm.edu or the Employee Assistance Program. The UWM Student Health and Wellness Center offers counseling services for students.

Let me take this opportunity to encourage campus community members to download the RAVE Guardian mobile app. It features a direct line to the UWM police with the visible button on the main screen labeled “UWM Emergency Call” and a text link to the police labeled “Message with UWMPD.” In addition, you can set the app to “always allow” your location, so police can identify your location.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Michael Doylan, Associate Vice Provost & Library Director

Email to Faculty, Staff and Students (March 20, 2023)

On Thursday, March 16, UWM Police made an off-campus arrest of a man who had been in the Golda Meir Library minutes before. While in the library, he removed a handgun from a small bag, loaded the handgun and left the library. A student witnessed this behavior and notified library staff, who called UWM Police. UWM Police arrived at the library within two minutes of the call. UWM Police used security cameras to track him to an off-campus location, where he was arrested without incident and then transferred to the Criminal Justice Facility. Today, he was charged by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

Your safety is our first and highest priority. Because the man was off campus by the time police were notified, and the incident was resolved within minutes of that notification, UWM did not issue a RAVE alert or a campus-wide communication. On Friday morning, library leadership sent an email to library staff summarizing the incident and thanking them for their assistance.

Although this case ended without incident, we understand that some people are disappointed with how we communicated the details about this situation and the lack of a campuswide message. We want to be responsive to those concerns in the future.

Our campus deserves clear, honest and timely communication about issues impacting campus safety. Worries about gun violence are something we all live with every day. Students, faculty and staff must know they can trust UWM and UWM Police to keep everyone safe and informed. We will continue this conversation with the campus community in the coming weeks.

RAVE Alerts

Learn more about RAVE and emergency alerts here.

Download the RAVE Guardian mobile app. It features a direct line to the UWM police with the visible button on the main screen labeled “UWM Emergency Call” and a text link to the police labeled “Message with UWMPD.” In addition, you can set the app to “always allow” your location, so police can identify your location.

Managing Stress 

This is an upsetting incident, and we encourage faculty and staff to make use of the resources available through the Employee Assistance Program if needed. The UWM Student Health and Wellness Center offers counseling services for students.

Email to Students’ Families (Sent via Campus ESP on March 21, 2023)

On Thursday, March 16, UWM Police made an off-campus arrest of a man who had been in the Golda Meir Library minutes before. While in the library, he removed a handgun from a small bag, loaded the handgun and left the library. A student witnessed this behavior and notified library staff, who called UWM Police. UWM Police arrived at the library within two minutes of the call. UWM Police used security cameras to track him to an off-campus location, where he was arrested without incident and then transferred to the Criminal Justice Facility. On Monday, March 20, he was charged by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

Our students’ safety is our first and highest priority. Because the man was off campus by the time police were notified, and the incident was resolved within minutes of that notification, UWM did not issue a RAVE alert or a campus-wide communication. On Friday morning, library leadership sent an email to library staff summarizing the incident and thanking them for their assistance. On Monday, campus leadership sent an email to all students and employees.

Although this case ended without incident, we understand that some people are disappointed with how we communicated the details about this situation and the delay in sending a campuswide message. We want to be responsive to those concerns in the future.

Our campus deserves clear, honest and timely communication about issues impacting campus safety. Worries about gun violence are something we all live with every day. Students, faculty and staff must know they can trust UWM and UWM Police to keep everyone safe and informed. We will continue this conversation with our campus community in the coming weeks.

RAVE Alerts

Learn more about RAVE and emergency alerts here.

Download the RAVE Guardian mobile app. It features a direct line to the UWM police with the visible button on the main screen labeled “UWM Emergency Call” and a text link to the police labeled “Message with UWMPD.” In addition, you can set the app to “always allow” your location, so police can identify your location.

Managing Stress

This is an upsetting incident, and we encourage students to make use of counseling services available through the UWM Student Health and Wellness Center if needed.