A University of Baltimore undergraduate who alleges she was stalked, threatened and assaulted by another student went on TikTok to warn the university community of what she views as a continuing threat to safety. The TikTok video has been liked more than 119,000 times and shared more than 8,000 times.

In a message to the school community on Monday, UB President Kurt. Schmoke said university police had responded swiftly and made an arrest, and that there was no ongoing threat to the community.

Madison Vital, a junior at UB, said a fellow student repeatedly asked her to tell him where she was going after class, followed her one day to a convenience store in Baltimore County, and once lifted her up by the backpack she was wearing. She said in an interview that he told her that he carried a gun, and one day showed her the gun in his backpack. She said the two were acquaintances only through class. She had approached him after he told the class that he was applying to law school, she said, and she was interested in knowing how he was studying for the LSAT. They exchanged cell phone numbers. She said his threatening behavior began very soon after that.

She said she didn’t immediately report the threats because she was frightened, but that his behavior escalated. One day he told her that she better not lie to him about where she was going or he would kill her with one shot, she said.

She went to her professors, who immediately reported it to campus security. School police interviewed her and recommended she seek a peace order the next day. On Oct. 10, the court issued a temporary peace order stating that he must stay away from Vital and the university, according to court records. Online court records did not list an attorney for the suspect in this case as of Monday evening.

After she filed the complaint, the suspect was served a warrant and charged with two counts of second-degree assault, one count of stalking and one count of having a handgun on Oct. 11. He was detained, then released the next day after posting bail.

Vital said school officials told her the student has been suspended.

On Oct. 14, Schmoke wrote an email to the school community saying that “university police had arrested an individual on various charges, including a handgun charge. While I am unable to share more details about this episode, I can tell you that the matter was handled promptly by the university police. As a result there was no ongoing threat to the safety of our community.”

The university has a policy that forbids students from having guns on campus.

Vital said she believes the university should have acted more quickly to alert the community of what she believes was a threat to the entire community.

“I think everyone on the campus, everyone in Baltimore City should be aware of what is going on. … It is not just a threat to me,” she said.

She posted her message about the incident on TikTok over the weekend and got an immediate response. She said at least 50 fellow students have emailed her, reached out on group chats, responded on social media and called her.

On Monday, after the TikTok message was posted, Schmoke, a former Baltimore mayor, sent a second message to the school community saying that his comments last week had reflected “a requirement to respect student privacy rights while assuring the community that University police and other officials are working together to maintain a safe environment. In response to those who have inquired, there is no need to alter classes or other activities scheduled to occur on campus.”

liz.bowie@thebaltimorebanner.com