ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Students at Oakland University expressed fear and unease following a stabbing incident that led to a campus lockdown.
The incident occurred on Thursday, Feb. 5, around 8:30 p.m. near Van Wagoner House.
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“It’s nothing to send a quick text, hey, let me in real quick,” one student said, referring to the suspect possibly knowing people on campus. “We don’t know what his motive was, who he even stabbed. So it’s just really uneasy,” said student Madison Jordan.
When asked if they were scared to be outside their dorms, one student admitted, “I’m not going to lie, like, I keep looking around, I just keep looking at the cars, driving cars.”
School officials describe the suspect as a dark-complexioned Black man wearing dark clothing.
He is believed to be traveling on foot and remains at large.
O.U. URGENT: Aggravated assault reported on campus . Lockdown until further notice.
— Oakland University (@oaklandu) February 6, 2026
Jordan added, “That is very unsettling. Because he has a knife, he could have a gun, he could have anything else. Unfortunate.”
Students shared that they were still trying to piece together details.
Jordan said, “Honestly, all I know is that he was stabbed in his back. There was a lot of blood loss. I did see him getting loaded onto the stretcher, but I didn’t see his face because he was covered to probably help stop the bleeding.”
The incident reportedly occurred inside a dormitory in Hamlin Hall, and students confirmed that those they know in the affected dorms were safe and in their rooms.
“I have friends that live in Hamlin Hall. I live in East Vandy, but in Hamlin I know like a lot a lot of people. I don’t know who got stabbed. I didn’t know who did the stabbing. I don’t know any of that, but I just know that I do have people in there and they’re safe. They’re good. They are in their rooms,” Jordan said.
The stabbing, according to the girls, which happened around 8:15 p.m., has led to a subsequent lockdown and has left the campus community concerned as the suspect remains at large.
“They took great initiative making sure all of us were safe, as far as I’m concerned, the situation still happened,” another girl said.