Children report suspicious person near child care center

Author: Dennis Brown

Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) received a report Wednesday (April 2) of a suspicious person near the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) on campus.

Several kindergarten children at the center offered varying accounts of seeing a man wearing traditional Army fatigues and carrying what one called a “musket” about 12:45 p.m. Another child reported the man did not have a gun.

Subsequently, an adult witness said that at about the same time he saw a man wearing an older style of camouflage jacket in a vehicle in the visitor parking lot across Leahy Drive from ECDC. He said the individual did not appear to be engaged in suspicious activity.

NDSP has interviewed the children and the adult witness. Investigators also have made a preliminary review of security camera videotape which offers a comprehensive view of the area outside the building, and which shows no evidence of anyone with a gun. Many pedestrians and vehicles traveled through this area during the time in question, and NDSP received no other calls about this matter.

NDSP stationed an officer at the building the remainder of the day and will continue to investigate.

Contact: Dennis Brown, assistant vice president and chief spokesman, 574-631-8696 (office); 574-274-9660 (cell); 574-271-0466 (home)

TopicID: 27229