{
  "id": "2024-11-08-columbia-university-arson-arson-549riversidedrive-2024-11-08",
  "slug": "columbia-university-arson-arson-549riversidedrive-2024-11-08-2024-11-08",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Columbia University",
    "shortName": "Columbia",
    "state": "NY",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Columbia Public Safety Clery Alerts",
    "enrollment": 33000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-11-08",
    "type": "arson",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "under-investigation",
    "headline": "Clery crime alert for arson near campus",
    "headlinePublic": "Clery crime alert for arson near campus",
    "summary": "Columbia Public Safety [issued a Clery crime alert PDF](https://web.archive.org/web/20250804133624/https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/W26_Clery_Arson_549RiversideDrive_2024-11-08.pdf) recovered via Wayback. Full text preserved from the official flyer.",
    "outcome": "See the Clery crime alert for investigation status and safety guidance.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Published as Columbia Clery crime alert around 2024-11-08",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "cl;) COLUMBIA I PUBLIC SAFETY\nPRIDE• PROFESSIONA LISM• SERVICE\n--------- pub licsafety.columbia.edu ---------\n\nClery Crime Alert\nArson\nOn Friday, November 08, 2024, at around 5:40 a.m. an Arson occurred at 549 Riverside Drive, at the Morningside Campus.\n\nThe incident was reported to Columbia University's Department of Public Safety by an Allied Universal Security Officer at\naround 5:45 a.m. CCTV shows an individual lighting leaves on fire. The fire grew and caused damage to two vehicles. At around\n5:50 a.m. both the NYPD and the FDNY reported to the scene. The FDNY extinguished the fire. This incident may be related to\na different fire that occurred at around 2:00 a.m. inside Riverside Park and across from 560 Riverside Drive. If you have any\nadditional information about this incident, please contact the Department of Public Safety at 212-854-2797.\n\nThe suspect is described as a male-presenting, light-complexioned, wearing tan pants, a dark hooded jacket and black\nsneakers.\n\nSafety Tips\n• Where there is smoke, there may be fire. If you smell smoke or witness a fire, get to a safe location and call 911 and the\nDepartment of Public Safety.\n• Do not try to extinguish an out-of-control fire by yourself.\n\nDisclaimer: Clery Crime Alerts {Timely Warning Notifications) are distributed pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure\nof Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Columbia University is required to alert the campus\ncommunity when certain crimes occur in our Clery Act defined campuses that represent a serious or continuous threat\nto the community.\n\nTo see this and other Clery Crime Alerts please visit our Public Safetr.. website. For more information about Columbia\nUniversity's Clery Act compliance efforts, please contact the Department's Clery Act Compliance Director, Roberto A.\nPineda Sanchez at [fl.3240@columbia.edu",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250804133624/https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/W26_Clery_Arson_549RiversideDrive_2024-11-08.pdf",
      "sourceDescription": "Columbia Public Safety Clery crime alert PDF via Wayback Machine",
      "annotations": [
        "pdftotext from official Clery PDF archived on Wayback; live host Cloudflare-blocks automated fetch"
      ],
      "characterCount": 1859
    }
  ],
  "context": "On or about 2024-11-08, Columbia Public Safety published a Clery crime alert flyer. Live [index](https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/content/clery-crime-alerts) is Cloudflare-restricted to bots; [Wayback PDF](https://web.archive.org/web/20250804133624/https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/W26_Clery_Arson_549RiversideDrive_2024-11-08.pdf) holds the public text.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Official Clery PDF with complete text",
    "Recovered via Wayback due to live 403"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Clery crime alert PDF (Wayback)",
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250804133624/https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/W26_Clery_Arson_549RiversideDrive_2024-11-08.pdf",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Columbia Clery crime alerts index",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.columbia.edu/content/clery-crime-alerts",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Columbia University",
      "url": "https://www.columbia.edu/",
      "type": "official"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "arson",
    "clery",
    "columbia",
    "wayback",
    "new-york"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-21",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-21",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}