UW 'vigilante' group tones down message, shifts focus

When he created a group on Facebook earlier this month with the aim of quelling crime around campus, University of Washington student Stanley Luong talked of forming a "vigilante" group to patrol the area.

The idea quickly drew attention — and criticism. Facebook, a social-networking Web site, removed the group from its site.

A member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) stepped in to offer a free training class on the legal ramifications of using deadly force. And a gun range in Kent supplied a room for the meeting Sunday.

By the time of the gathering, Luong had changed his message, and realized his mistake. "We don't have plans for patrols; this is looking like more of a self-defense education group," he said.

Luong said he realizes now it was a bad idea to use the word "vigilante" or suggest volunteers could patrol campus. The group has formed a new Facebook page under a different name, University District Defenders.

"We're in no way affiliated with vigilantes," Luong said. "I didn't think about the consequences when I used the word vigilante."

Rick Walker, an Olympia-area NRA gun instructor, held a free training session to six members of the group on how to get out of a threatening situation without using a gun, and the legal ramifications of using a gun in self-defense.

"I told them the first thing they should do, if they can do so safely, is call 911," Walker said. "It's the smart thing to do."

Luong, a cinema-studies major, said a steady stream of notices about crime on campus from the UW police has left him concerned that crime is on the rise and that police aren't reacting fast enough. He said he has a concealed-weapons permit and sometimes carries a gun with him for safety, although never on campus. It's a violation of the Washington Administrative Code to have a gun on a university campus.

UW police Cmdr. Jerome Solomon said the perception that crime is on the upswing may be because of changes in how crime information is passed along to students.

Under the federal Clery Act on campus security, which was amended in 2008 in the wake of shootings at Virginia Tech University, the UW must notify students about significant emergencies or dangerous situations near campus.

Many students choose to receive those via text messages on their phones, and the stream of crime notifications — sometimes as many as four in a week — may give students the mistaken impression that crime is increasing, he said.

"We don't think, and our records don't indicate, there's any increase in crime," Solomon said.

Solomon said it was good the group was getting training but the level of judgment that goes along with using a firearm for self-defense comes from long experience and practice.

"We don't support vigilantism," he said. "We do encourage gun safety."

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or klong@seattletimes.com