The Outpost 'standoff' was a scare that lasted from approximately 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm on July 31, 2012.[1]
Background[]
At about 2:00 pm CST, Vihar Bhakta, a 20 year-old employee at a local motel, flagged down security officers and told them that he had been robbed after attempting to purchase marijuana at the complex.[2] He had intended to buy about $300 worth of the drug.[2] Bhakta told police that the suspects threatened him with possible guns, assaulted him and told him to leave the apartment. Allegedly, they told him "You're getting jacked" prior to one of the two suspects pistol whipping him.[3]
Suspects[]
The victim told officers that his attackers were two black males.[1] Bhakta alleged that both threatened him with weapons, and one had a possible AK-47.[1][2] One of them then said "This is a holdup; you're getting jacked!" and proceeded to assault him.[2]
The 'Standoff'[]
The San Antonio Police Department arrived on scene shortly thereafter, deploying its Blue Eagle helicopter detail to try and locate the suspects by air.[1] The standoff lasted several hours, with numerous vehicles, officers surrounding Apartment 6101.
Subsequent Arrests[]
On August 1st, the next day, officers pulled over the car of Adefemi Adekeye, a football player for the Roadrunners.[3] He was later identified as the suspect who had pistol whipped the victim through a photo line up.[3] Adekeye was held on an outstanding municipal warrant and subsequently dropped from the team by Coach Coker.[3]
Speculation and Media Response[]
Much speculation about the incident was made on Twitter, Facebook and even the UTSA Campus Alerts page during the day of the standoff. The university sent out a notice to all students that there was a hostage situation in the apartment and instructed them to avoid UTSA Boulevard. The report was later denied by SAPD and UTSA removed the notice from its Campus Alerts page.[1][4] An update was posted on the page at 7:12 pm urging students to be cautious, stating that the situation was cleared but that the two suspects had fled.[5]
The event prompted News 4 WOAI to declare that a "crime wave" was sweeping over the off-campus complexes.[6] WOAI declared that Las Colinas, The Reserve and The Outpost produced an average of 200 phone calls to SAPD in the past year. 290 came from The Outpost alone.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "SAPD leaves empty-handed after UTSA Blvd. SWAT 'standoff'". kens5.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Police: Botched drug deal led to 'standoff'". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "UTSA football player arrested for robbery". KSAT 12. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Campus Alerts". UTSA Campus Alerts. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ↑ "Outpost Apartment situation is cleared". UTSA Campus Alerts. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Crime wave sweeping over UTSA surrounding apartments area". WOAI. Retrieved August 19, 2012.