Campus Alert Archive
MSU

All Black, Fled on Foot: MSU Bozeman's University Student Apartments Stranger-Sexual-Assault Timely Warning

MTsexual assaulttimely warningmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Just after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, Montana State University Police received a report of a sexual assault that had occurred outside a residential building within MSU's University Student Apartments. An unknown male wearing all black grabbed and groped the victim before fleeing on foot. MSU issued a Clery timely warning describing the suspect and asking the community to call Bozeman Police Detective Sergeant Joseph Swanson or Crimestoppers. The suspect was later identified, trespassed from campus, and cited for assault and attempted surreptitious observation.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
1
Institution
Montana State University
Public R1 · MT
~17,000 studentsEverbridgeMSU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from MSU University Police Crime Alerts archive and Bozeman Daily Chronicle reporting on the May 8, 2024 timely warning931 chars
Crime Alert / Timely Warning — Sexual Assault: Montana State University Police received a report of sexual assault that occurred outside of a residential building within University Student Apartments on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, just after 5:00 p.m. The unknown suspect was said to be a male wearing all black and fled on foot after grabbing and groping the victim. This Timely Warning is issued in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The purpose of this Timely Warning is to provide preventative information to the campus community to aid members of the campus from becoming the victim of a similar crime. The incident is under investigation by the Bozeman Police Department, Detective Division. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Detective Sergeant Joseph Swanson at 406-582-2951, Crimestoppers at 406-586-1131, or email tipline@bozeman.net.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Issued via the MSU Alert (Everbridge) emergency-notification platform and posted to the MSU University Police Crime Alerts page
The May 8 timing — eight days after MSU's end-of-spring-semester finals — fell during a quieter campus period when many students had returned home, illustrating that Clery warnings continue during summer Clery geography
University Student Apartments is MSU's primary undergraduate and graduate family-housing complex on the southeast side of the Bozeman campus; the residential location placed the incident squarely within MSU's Clery geography
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle later reported the suspect had been identified, trespassed from campus, and cited for both assault and a separate count of surreptitious observation
MSU and Bozeman Police jurisdictionally split coverage: MSU Police investigated the on-campus elements; Bozeman PD's Detective Division led the criminal investigation
Context

Background

On Wednesday afternoon, May 8, 2024, just after 5:00 p.m. MDT, Montana State University Police received a report that a male wearing all black had grabbed and groped a woman outside a residential building within MSU's University Student Apartments on the Bozeman campus, then fled on foot. MSU issued a Clery Timely Warning the same evening through the MSU Alert system, describing the suspect and asking the community to contact Bozeman Police Detective Sergeant Joseph Swanson or Crimestoppers with information. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported that the suspect was identified, trespassed from MSU campus, and cited for both assault and attempted surreptitious observation; Bozeman Police had a separate open case on the same individual and issued an additional citation for surreptitious observation. The case illustrates how MSU's Everbridge-based MSU Alert system can dispatch Clery warnings within hours of an incident, even during the slower late-spring period after final exams.
Analysis

Key Findings

MSU issued the timely warning within hours of the 5:00 p.m. incident, illustrating Everbridge-platform institutions' ability to push Clery alerts on a near-real-time schedule
The suspect was identified, trespassed, and criminally charged after the timely warning, suggesting the community-wide notice may have generated leads
Stranger sexual assault timely warnings (with suspect descriptions) remain the most common Clery sexual-assault disclosure type, even though acquaintance assaults are statistically more frequent
Two parallel investigations (MSU Police for the on-campus elements; Bozeman PD's Detective Division for the criminal case) reflect Montana's common shared-jurisdiction model for university-affiliated crimes
Outcome
Suspect was identified, trespassed from campus, and cited by Bozeman Police for assault and attempted surreptitious observation. Bozeman PD already had a separate open case on the same individual and issued an additional citation for surreptitious observation.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Crime Alerts (Montana State University Police)
    montana.edu
  2. News
    'Look out': Montana State University police issue 'timely' warnings about alleged drugging incidents (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
    bozemandailychronicle.com
  3. Official
    MSU Alert (Montana State University)
    montana.edu
  4. Official
    Prior Notification Incidents — MSU Alert
    montana.edu
Tags
sexual-assaulttimely-warningstranger-assaultmontanamsu-bozemanuniversity-student-apartmentseverbridgetrespassedpost-warning-identification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion