{
  "id": "2024-01-18-university-of-central-florida-armed-intruder",
  "slug": "university-of-central-florida-armed-intruder-2024-01-18",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Central Florida",
    "shortName": "UCF",
    "state": "FL",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UCF Alert",
    "enrollment": 70000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-01-18",
    "type": "armed-person",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Man pulled a gun on a bus driver near a parking garage; arrested within an hour",
    "headlinePublic": "Man pulled a gun on a bus driver near a parking garage; arrested within an hour",
    "summary": "On the evening of January 18, 2024, a man pulled a handgun on a Lynx bus driver near Parking Garage A on UCF's main campus after being denied entry to the bus. The suspect fled on a bicycle, prompting a [campus-wide shelter-in-place order at 8:07 PM EST](https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2024/01/19/ucf-police-respond-to-reports-of--armed-intruder--on-campus). UCF police located and arrested [Takuya Leon Takahashi, 27, within an hour](https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/ucf-campus-locked-down-after-man-threatened-bus-with-gun-police-say) using patrol officers and campus surveillance cameras. No shots were fired.",
    "outcome": "Takahashi was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon on school property. Bond was set at $5,000 per charge. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim and not to return to the campus. Takahashi had no affiliation with UCF.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-18T20:09:00-05:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#UCFAlert: Armed intruder reported near Parking Garage A. Police responding. Avoid the area or shelter in place if nearby.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/UCFPolice/status/1748150555673842018",
      "sourceDescription": "@UCFPolice official Twitter/X post (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Posted verbatim by @UCFPolice on X/Twitter at 8:09 PM EST on January 18, 2024 (time decoded from the X status ID; the January 19 date previously given here was the UTC date of the same moment), paralleling the UCF Alert SMS push",
        "The '#UCFAlert' hashtag is the standard prefix used by UCFPD for all emergency notifications, intended to be searchable on X/Twitter during a crisis",
        "Naming 'Parking Garage A' gave shelter-takers actionable geographic information rather than a generic 'main campus' boundary",
        "The alert triggered access control protocols on all campus buildings, effectively locking down the main campus"
      ],
      "characterCount": 122
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-18T21:03:00-05:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#UCFAlert: ALL CLEAR. Suspect with weapon in custody. Shelter in place lifted.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/UCFPolice",
      "sourceDescription": "@UCFPolice official X account (quoted verbatim in multiple news reports)",
      "annotations": [
        "Quoted verbatim by multiple news outlets (Spectrum News 13, WFTV, WDBO) from the @UCFPolice X post issued at approximately 9:03 PM EST on January 18, 2024",
        "Police used campus surveillance cameras and patrol units to locate Takahashi on the main campus"
      ],
      "characterCount": 78
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the evening of January 18, 2024, UCF Police received a 911 call from a [Lynx bus driver at a station near Parking Garage A](https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/01/19/armed-intruder-reported-near-ucf-parking-garage-police-say/) reporting a belligerent man who had threatened the driver with a gun after being denied boarding. The suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Takuya Leon Takahashi of Rochester, New York, fled the scene on a bicycle before officers arrived. A campus-wide shelter-in-place order was issued at 8:07 PM EST, and all campus buildings were placed on access control. UCF police, using [patrol officers and surveillance cameras, located Takahashi on the main campus](https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/ucf-campus-locked-down-after-man-threatened-bus-with-gun-police-say) and took him into custody without incident. His firearm was recovered nearby. The all-clear was issued at 9:03 PM EST. Takahashi was [charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon on school property](https://www.nicholsonstudentmedia.com/news/armed-intruder-now-identified-by-ucfpd-has-no-ucf-tie/article_4c2581a4-b6fd-11ee-b229-8ffd04883055.html) and had no affiliation with UCF. At a first court appearance, bond was set at $5,000 per charge, and [Takahashi was ordered to stay away from the campus and have no contact with the victim](https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/ucf-bus-driver-threatened-lockdown-arrest/67-c8817282-4433-4d4c-973a-42d41f8cf271).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The suspect had no connection to UCF and threatened a public transit bus driver at a station within the campus perimeter",
    "The 56-minute lockdown affected one of the largest universities in the nation by enrollment",
    "UCF's surveillance camera network was instrumental in locating the suspect on foot after he abandoned his bicycle"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "@UCFPolice official X/Twitter: #UCFAlert posts for the January 18, 2024 armed intruder incident",
      "url": "https://x.com/UCFPolice",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "UCF police respond to reports of armed intruder on campus (Spectrum News 13)",
      "url": "https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2024/01/19/ucf-police-respond-to-reports-of--armed-intruder--on-campus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Gunman threatens bus driver on UCF campus, prompting lockdown (Click Orlando)",
      "url": "https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/01/19/armed-intruder-reported-near-ucf-parking-garage-police-say/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UCF Police: Armed intruder in custody near UCF campus (Fox 35 Orlando)",
      "url": "https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/ucf-campus-locked-down-after-man-threatened-bus-with-gun-police-say",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Armed intruder, now identified by UCFPD, has no UCF tie (NSM Today)",
      "url": "https://www.nicholsonstudentmedia.com/news/armed-intruder-now-identified-by-ucfpd-has-no-ucf-tie/article_4c2581a4-b6fd-11ee-b229-8ffd04883055.html",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "UCF bus driver threatened by armed man, campus put in lockdown (WTSP)",
      "url": "https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/ucf-bus-driver-threatened-lockdown-arrest/67-c8817282-4433-4d4c-973a-42d41f8cf271",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "armed-person",
    "campus-lockdown",
    "florida",
    "public-transit",
    "no-shots-fired",
    "surveillance-cameras",
    "non-affiliate"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}