Campus Alert Archive
UCSB

Outside the Humanities Building at Dusk: A Stalking Warning That Gave Students an Unusually Detailed Suspect Profile

CAstalkingtimely warninghigh confidence
Under Investigation

The UC Santa Barbara Police Department issued a timely warning on May 16, 2024 covering two reported stalking incidents on consecutive days: one outside the Humanities and Social Sciences Building (HSSB) on May 13, 2024 at approximately 7:00 PM PDT, and one outside Theater and Dance West on May 14, 2024 at approximately 4:00 PM PDT. In each, the suspect approached a victim, asked for their phone number, and then contacted them offering to pay them to meet and talk. The suspect was described as an Asian or Indian adult male, approximately 25-30 years old, 6 feet tall, thin build, around 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Alerts
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Response
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Institution
University of California, Santa Barbara
Public R1 · CA
~26,000 studentsUCSB Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimUCSB Police Department alert archive (police.ucsb.edu) — Timely Warning, Content Warning: This message includes descriptions of stalking1110 chars
Timely Warning — Content Warning: This message includes descriptions of stalking. On May 15, 2024 the UCSB Police Department received a report of stalking that occurred outside the Humanities and Social Sciences Building (HSSB) on May 13, 2024 around 7:00 p.m. The suspect approached the victim, asked for the victim's phone number, and then texted the victim offering money to meet and talk. On May 15, 2024 the UCSB Police Department received a similar report where the suspect approached the victim, asked them for their phone number, and then texted them, offering them money to meet and talk. This incident occurred outside Theater and Dance West on May 14, 2024 around 4:00 p.m. The suspect is described to be a 25-30-year-old Asian or Indian adult male, 6 feet tall with a thin build, approximately 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. If you have information regarding these incidents, please contact the UCSB Police Department at (805) 893-3446. This Timely Warning is being provided in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.
The alert includes a content warning for stalking descriptions, a practice that has become increasingly common at UC campuses and reflects trauma-informed communication practices
Unlike many stalking timely warnings which omit suspect details to protect the victim, this alert provides a detailed physical description because the suspect was unknown to the victim
The behavior described, offering to pay someone to meet after unsolicited contact, represents a non-traditional stalking pattern that differs from the repeated following behavior more commonly associated with campus stalking cases
The timely warning was issued May 16, 2024 — covering two reported stalking incidents on consecutive days (May 13 outside HSSB and May 14 outside Theater and Dance West) by the same suspect
Aggregating multiple incidents into a single timely warning is best practice when a single perpetrator is implicated in a course of conduct
Context

Background

UCSB's stalking timely warning of May 16, 2024 is notable for including a content warning at the top of the message, a practice that emerged at UC campuses following student advocacy for trauma-informed communication. The warning bundled two reported incidents on consecutive days: May 13 outside the Humanities and Social Sciences Building (HSSB) at approximately 7:00 PM PDT and May 14 outside Theater and Dance West at approximately 4:00 PM PDT, both by the same described suspect who asked victims for their phone number and then offered money to meet. HSSB is a central academic building on the UCSB campus and is frequently occupied during evening hours. This incident occurred less than a month after a separate attempted abduction and sexual assault was reported near the campus Labyrinth on April 20, 2024, heightening campus safety concerns during the spring quarter. Stalking was added to the list of Clery-reportable offenses by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, and UCSB's alert reflects the evolving best practices for communicating these incidents.
Analysis

Key Findings

Content warnings on timely warning notifications represent an emerging practice at UC campuses that balances Clery compliance with trauma-informed communication
Stalking timely warnings for incidents involving unknown suspects can include detailed physical descriptions, unlike those involving known individuals where victim privacy is the priority
The offering-to-pay behavior pattern illustrates how stalking under the Clery Act encompasses a broader range of conduct than the popular conception of following or surveillance
UCSB's May 16, 2024 timely warning aggregated two stalking reports on consecutive days (May 13 HSSB and May 14 Theater and Dance West) into a single notification — best practice when a single suspect is implicated in a course of conduct
Outcome
Under investigation by UCSB Police Department.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UCSB Police Department Timely Warning - Stalking
    police.ucsb.edu
  2. Student Paper
    Stalker at large asks students for number, offers money to meet, UCPD reports — Daily Nexus
    dailynexus.com
  3. News
    Attempted Abduction and Sexual Assault Alleged at UC Santa Barbara
    independent.com
Tags
stalkingtimely-warningcontent-warningvawacaliforniauc-systemUnder Investigation
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion