By Luke Lattanzi | Staff Writer
The Waco Police Department arrested a person for public intoxication late Tuesday around the U Pointe on Speight apartments.
Rumors spread on social media that same afternoon that someone had pulled a gun around the apartment complex, to which Waco PD spokesperson Cierra Shipley said via email that no weapon was located at the time of the arrest. The initial reason for the first 911 call to the apartment complex is currently unknown.
“It doesn’t look like we received a call regarding a person with a weapon at U Pointe Apartments,” Shipley said. “We did receive a call for a check person at U Pointe Apartments where one person was arrested for public intoxication, no weapons were located.”
Phoenix senior Abby Smason said she was walking back to U Pointe from dinner with her friends when the incident occurred.
“I saw right in front of the leasing office, which is where I enter, there were two police cars in front of the entrance at 7:15 [p.m.] or 7:30-ish,” Smason said. “They said nothing to me when I entered, and I just went in anyway.”
According to Smason, 30 minutes later, her roommate told her to lock their apartment door after she was told there was a man with a gun.
“30 minutes later, at 8 p.m., my roommate calls me and tells me to lock the doors because there’s a man with a gun in U Pointe, and so I went outside and dead bolted our door,” Smason said. “I told my other two roommates, which didn’t know by then. They were just sitting in the living room.”
Smason also said she learned of the incident solely from her roommate and friends, and received no notification from U Pointe about the incident.
“I learned all of this from my roommate and from my friends,” Smason said. “U Pointe didn’t call me, I just learned this from word of mouth.”
Smason also said throughout the entire incident, she did not hear any gunshots, and that police were unable to find anyone with a firearm.
U Pointe management sent an email to residents late Wednesday night saying it was policy to cooperate fully with police and follow their instructions. The email also said resident safety is a top priority.
“We’d like to remind our residents to always remain aware of your surroundings, keep doors and windows locked at all times and report any suspicious activity to management,” the email read.
The Lariat attempted to reach out to U Pointe for comment but did not receive a response on the matter.
