A University of Baltimore student warned people on TikTok that a peer was bringing a gun to school and had 'stalked, threatened, and assaulted' her — saying the university is 'pushing it under the rug'

• A University of Baltimore student took to TikTok to warn peers about a fellow student.
• Madison Vital alleged that the student "stalked, threatened, and assaulted" her and brought a gun to school.

Madison Vital, a junior at the University of Baltimore, took to TikTok on October 17 with a nearly three-minute video she says she was terrified to make — but unsure of what else to do.

"At this point, everybody that attends or works at the University of Baltimore is risking losing their life by being there," she began, "and the administrators of the University of Baltimore are trying to push this entire situation under the rug so that no one really knows what's going on."

In the TikTok, since viewed more than 3 million times, Vital alleged that a student had "stalked, threatened, and assaulted" her and brought "a gun to school every single day," though the university has a policy forbidding students from carrying guns on campus.

The 21-year-old told Insider she'd only recently met the student, identified in court filings as 29-year-old Jesse Francis, earlier that semester. She says he mentioned plans to apply to Yale Law School, and Vital, who says she's always wanted to attend an Ivy League law school, approached him to ask what materials he was using to study for the LSAT. They exchanged numbers. Vital says about three days later it all "started going downhill."

Afraid of escalating the situation but encouraged by a friend, Vital initially verbally complained to professors on October 5, and the faculty members immediately reported the incident to campus security. Vital says police advised her to file criminal charges and a peace order, which was granted to Vital.

According to court filings seen by Insider, Francis is facing charges of assault, stalking, and weapons violations, but was released from custody after posting bail on October 12.

Vital says she was told he was placed on an interim suspension. The peace hearing orders Francis to stay away from the school and avoid contact with Vital. A hearing on the case is scheduled for November 10.

On October 14, University of Baltimore President Kurt Schmoke, emailed the school community: "Earlier this week, University police 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 University police. As a result, there was no ongoing threat to the safety of our community."

But Vital responded to the email by noting that Francis had posted bail earlier in the week, and though court-ordered to stay away from the university, "it is my understanding from prior conversations with administration that the University of Baltimore cannot guarantee they will abide by these court orders and may choose to attempt to override them," referencing a call Vital says she had with university officials, and urging students to be aware of their surroundings.

After Vital's TikTok was posted, Schmoke sent another email to the community on October 17: "This is to follow up on the message I sent last week involving the arrest that was made on our campus. My comments on this matter reflect 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. Thank you."

Representatives for the University of Baltimore did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Vital says the Office of Student Support got in touch to offer her counseling, but after a week of feeling like the administration was seriously downplaying the danger to students, she told Insider she doesn't trust counseling affiliated with the school.

The philosophy, law, and ethics major told Insider she's uncertain what her future at the university will look like, and she's not attending classes for now. Initially, some professors offered their classes on Zoom because of the situation, Vital says, but the phone calls with the police and the school and "the stress and just everything going on" have proved too much for her to juggle with classes at the moment.

"Because the school has brushed it under the rug this long," Vital told Insider, "nothing that they do at this point will ever make me feel 100% safe on that campus again."

Between 6% and 39% of college students report being stalked at some point during college, according to the Stalking Prevention Awareness Resource Center, which notes that stalking violates both student conduct codes and Title IX, and is a crime under state and federal law.

According to the organization, only around 29% of victims report their stalkers to campus authorities, and of those, 35% said doing so was "a little useful or not at all useful."

Vital is concerned that drawing attention to herself may put her in greater danger, but she says she's more concerned about her fellow UBalt students having all the information they need to make safe choices.

"I do worry," Vital told Insider. "But at the end of the day, if the school is not going to do anything to protect their safety, I feel like they deserve to know the truth so that they can make their own decision."

Vital says she was terrified to post the TikTok initially, and told viewers on October 20 that she wouldn't have gone to social media if she felt the university had responded as she thought it should.

"I just tried to keep in the back of my mind that doing something like this could save the lives of multiple people at that university," she told Insider.