USCPD has arrested a suspect in the on-campus armed robbery that took place Thursday near the Horseshoe. The arrest was announced at 3:10 p.m. on Tuesday, and the suspect is currently being questioned. The investigation is still ongoing.
Kevin Rick Oneal, 40, was identified as a suspect in the gunpoint robbery, and USCPD has obtained arrest warrants for him. Oneal was identified by USCPD as a 5-foot-6-inch black male weighing approximately 180 pounds.
Oneal’s identity came after police reviewed footage from university surveillance cameras located on the Horseshoe and in the South and East Quad dorms.
The bulletin came soon after a statement by University President Harris Pastides, which said an arrest was made in one of the three on-campus incidents, though it was unclear which incident it was connected to.
Pastides addressed the apparent sudden uptake in campus crimes and new measures in the works to ensure safety of students, faculty and staff.
Pastides outlined a number of steps, including increased uniformed and undercover police on campus and a new mobile technology that Pastides promised would “enable [the] community to more easily communicate with USCPD.”
Carolina Alerts were issued twice in the past week, both during a developing armed subject case early Sunday morning. The first message alerted students to the potential danger near Russell House, while the second informed students that police had concluded a search and were “unable to locate an individual matching the description.”
That incident, one of the three mentioned in the press release, remains unresolved, though Pastides assured students that “we have several experienced investigators and intelligence officers assigned to the cases following every lead and we are working with Crime Stoppers and other local agencies to develop additional leads.”
USCPD urges anyone who may have come into contact with the suspect to call 911 or the USC Division of Law Enforcement and Safety at (803) 777-4215.
These latest incidents follow a string of four robberies in the Five Points area between Aug. 3 and 12 in which one or more armed suspects demanded valuables and personal belongings.
USCPD crime alerts urged students to make use of university shuttles, to travel by vehicle whenever possible and if a suspicious person is around to seek safety in a well populated area or a building and to immediately call 911.