The following e-mail “safety alert” was sent out to the UAB community at 3:09 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, from the UAB Emergency Management Team:

“An armed robbery occurred on the sidewalk in the 1000 block of 12th Ave. South, adjacent to the UAB campus, last night at around 8:15 p.m. The location is across from the Alys Stephens Center at the St. Andrews Church.

Two males approached a student and his friend asking for money; they gave the suspects a backpack and the suspects escaped in a light colored automobile that was parked in the driveway of UAB Lot 15D. The victims were not harmed.

Anyone who may have information about this incident, please contact the UAB Police Department at 934-6860 or 934-4434 and ask for Detective Sgt. Duane Cox or Capt. Aubrey Glasscock.

Please remember that the UAB Escort Service, 934-8772, is an after-dark service provided upon request to students and employees on the UAB campus. Students and staff can call for service from their office or cell phones, or they can use one of the designated white phones, located in 12 classroom buildings, to request an escort. A clearly marked UAB escort van provided by Parking and Transportation will pick up callers Monday through Friday beginning at 5:15 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. Security vans provided by the UAB Police Department are provided Monday through Friday 10:15 p.m. until 6 a.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 5:15 p.m. until 6 a.m. There are 425 bright green emergency ‘Help’ phones with distinguishing blue lights strategically located around the UAB campus. The phones are directly linked to a UAB Police dispatcher who can automatically identify the caller’s location.”

Never mind that, once again, UAB is trying to dodge the fact that crime does, in fact, occur on its campus. Instead of saying that the location of the crime was on campus, the e-mail states the location was “adjacent” to campus. Never mind that this event happened at 8:15 p.m. Oct. 24, and this e-mail wasn’t distributed until 3:09 p.m. Oct. 25. Students are still on campus well past 8:15 p.m. and those who were on campus last night, or in their houses near campus, would probably have liked to know that armed criminals were on the loose . I can also look past the fact that UAB seems to think including information about the “Help” boxes and escort service somehow alleviates the situation. (I would be interested to know how many of the “Help” boxes actually work, by the way.)

The most shocking part of this situation is that after Kayla Fanaei’s murder and the recent discussion of crime in Southside, something like this could happen right under the noses of UAB and Birmingham Police. The UAB police force has jurisdiction in campus buildings and parking lots. In addition, Birmingham has jurisdiction on the streets. UAB Police Department is located only a couple of blocks from where the crime happened.

It seems as UAB renovates its campus, most likely in an attempt to keep criminals and vagrants away, more and more of them are finding their way in. UAB hired a new police chief last year who in interviews told me he was experienced with urban campuses, having come from Georgia Tech. Looks like he needs to up his game.

Meanwhile, Birmingham Police would like to speak with an anonymous caller who offered information about Fanaei’s murder. There is at least one, if not two, callers who have information that investigators now think could lead to the killer or killers.

An e-mail was sent out notifying members of the UAB community with information to contact Birmingham Police homicide Sgt. Cory Hardiman.

(I have an active UAB e-mail account and did not receive this particular e-mail. Is there, perhaps, a flaw in UAB’s emergency e-mail system?)

Fanaei’s family is offering $20,000 for information leading to an arrest. Crimestoppers is also offering a reward.

The Birmingham Police can be reached at 205-254-1700. Crimestoppers can be reached at 205-254-7777.