According to Domenic Ceccanecchio, the senior associate vice president for public safety, the email and texts sent to students was meant to inform the Drexel community about a suspect who might have committed similar crimes around the city. Ceccanecchio said that the decision to send out the email and texts was made as soon as DPS had confirmed that the suspect for the crime on UPenn’s campus might have been responsible for similar occurences in center city, indicating that Drexel students might be at risk. DPS will be assisting the investigation by increasing video surveillance around campus.

Ceccanecchio also said that this was the first time DPS tested the emergency alert system. The alert was sent to all Drexel community members who signed up their phones, on all campuses. However, according to Ceccanecchio, some phones did not receive the alert. The exact reason why some people did not receive the text is not yet known, but DPS is looking into the causes and possible solutions, according to Ceccanecchio.