By Linda Missal
A foiled bank robbery in Readington Township that cost an FBI agent his life led to a security lock-down at RVCC on Thursday, April 5 as FBI searched for an armed man who escaped into the woods surrounding the campus.
School officials posted the lock-down announcement on the Lions Den Web page at 2:15 p.m. Students and faculty were instructed to stay inside classrooms and offices.
An hour later, an updated Lions Den message alerted the community that campus would be evacuated. Exiting traffic was strictly controlled by Branchburg police and some students’ cars were searched as helicopters flew overhead.
Students who were not logged on to the Web site found out about the lock-down by word of mouth, as the few facts about the emergency mixed with wild rumors. According to RVCC student Rosie Tangtrakul, who was on campus at the time, “A lot of people didn’t even know.”
Tangtrakul admitted to feeling “a little bit nervous.”
“We kept getting more information and that’s when I realized it was serious,” she said. “The whole day was really unsettling.”
Not all students were anxious: “I wasn’t really worried,” said RVCC student Casey Malizewski, “I felt pretty secure.”
The alleged perpetrator was captured nearby at about 8 a.m. the following day."
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