{
  "id": "2024-09-23-university-of-northern-colorado-armed-person-campus",
  "slug": "university-of-northern-colorado-armed-person-campus-2024-09-23",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Northern Colorado",
    "shortName": "UNC",
    "state": "CO",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "enrollment": 9000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-09-23",
    "type": "armed-person",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Man under a campus ban seen with a rifle in student housing; arrested the next day",
    "headlinePublic": "Man under a campus ban seen with a rifle in student housing; arrested the next day",
    "summary": "On September 23, 2024, Ephraim Debisa, 21, who was under a no-trespass order at [University of Northern Colorado](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Northern_Colorado) and had been released from jail only 15 days earlier in an attempted murder case, was seen with an AR-15-style rifle in the Arlington Apartments student housing complex. [UNC Police issued a campus safety alert early Wednesday morning](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/debisa-ephraim-university-northern-colorado-gun-search/) while officers searched for the suspect. Debisa was arrested Wednesday afternoon by UNC Police, Greeley PD, and the Weld County Sheriff's Office.",
    "outcome": "Debisa was arrested September 24, 2024 on charges of unlawful possession of a weapon on school grounds and trespassing. No one was threatened or injured. The case sparked a statewide debate about Colorado's competency law HB23-1034.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Evening of September 23, 2024, or early September 24, shortly after the Arlington Apartments sighting",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Fellow Bears, I am emailing to let you know about an individual who is not affiliated with our university but has recently been on campus and is someone I believe to be dangerous. Ephraim Debisa (aka Debisa Ephraim), pictured below, has had several interactions with the University of Northern Colorado Police Department (UNC PD) over the past few years, and his recent behavior has given us cause for concern. On Sept. 23, Debisa was seen in the Arlington Apartments, and he was in possession of a firearm. UNC PD responded immediately, but upon arrival, Debisa was no longer in the building. While no one was threatened or harmed during this incident, the UNC PD is actively looking for Debisa. Due to past safety-related incidents, Debisa has been banned from campus. While he may appear friendly, his presence on campus is against the law. We advise anyone who sees Debisa to not approach or engage with him and instead call UNC PD immediately at 970-351-2245, or 911 in the event of an emergency",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/debisa-ephraim-university-northern-colorado-gun-search/",
      "sourceDescription": "CBS Colorado article quoting the UNC campus safety email verbatim; text confirmed via Google search snippet from the CBS Colorado report",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim UNC campus email text confirmed via CBS Colorado's article which quoted the email in full; this is an email from UNC leadership (likely the president or UNC Police) to the campus community",
        "Channel corrected from push-notification to email based on the 'I am emailing' phrasing and CBS Colorado reporting",
        "The email describes the firearm as 'a firearm' rather than 'an AR-15-style rifle' as described in some media reporting; the firearm type was based on video footage analysis by law enforcement"
      ],
      "characterCount": 1000
    }
  ],
  "context": "[University of Northern Colorado](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Northern_Colorado) is a public master's-level university in Greeley, Colorado, enrolling approximately 9,000 students. On the evening of September 23, 2024, Ephraim Debisa, 21, a man previously banned from campus due to a February 2021 bookstore burglary, was seen in video footage dancing and displaying an AR-15-style rifle in the Arlington Apartments student housing complex on campus. UNC Police responded but Debisa had already left when officers arrived. [The incident triggered national headlines](https://www.denver7.com/news/investigations/man-spotted-on-unc-campus-with-a-gun-just-weeks-after-he-was-released-from-jail-due-to-competency-issues) because Debisa had been released from Weld County Jail on September 8, 2024 -- only 15 days earlier -- after being found incompetent to stand trial in a 2023 attempted murder case. Under Colorado law HB23-1034, signed in 2024, individuals found incompetent to stand trial can be released to the community if they do not qualify for mental health treatment, which sparked a statewide debate. Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams had publicly warned about the risks of Debisa's release before the UNC incident. Debisa was arrested the following day by a joint law enforcement team and charged with felony unlawful possession of a weapon on school grounds and trespassing. No students or staff were threatened or injured.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The suspect had been released from jail only 15 days before the incident under a Colorado competency law, creating a direct pipeline from the criminal justice system to campus vulnerability",
    "UNC Police had previously issued a public warning about Debisa's presence on campus before the Arlington Apartments incident",
    "A no-trespass order was already in place but did not prevent Debisa from entering campus",
    "The incident sparked statewide debate about Colorado HB23-1034 and competency-based releases from incarceration"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Police in Northern Colorado arrest 'dangerous' man recently released from jail who was allegedly seen with a gun - CBS Colorado",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/debisa-ephraim-university-northern-colorado-gun-search/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Man arrested after allegedly taking a gun to UNC campus weeks after release from jail for competency issues - Denver7",
      "url": "https://www.denver7.com/news/investigations/man-spotted-on-unc-campus-with-a-gun-just-weeks-after-he-was-released-from-jail-due-to-competency-issues",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Man, previously banned from UNC campus, arrested after displaying firearm inside dorm - FOX31",
      "url": "https://kdvr.com/news/local/man-previously-banned-from-unc-campus-arrested-after-displaying-firearm-inside-dorm/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "'Dangerous' man released from jail over competency spotted with gun on UNC campus, arrested again - 9News",
      "url": "https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/man-released-jail-competency-gun-unc-campus-trespassing/73-4b194c94-af4c-40e7-beec-e278393097ca",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "armed-person",
    "no-trespass",
    "competency-law",
    "student-housing",
    "colorado",
    "greeley",
    "ar-15",
    "multi-agency-response",
    "attempted-murder-history"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}