A wave of panic swept across the UNM campus late last week as rumors circulated that a serial rapist was loose in the area.
However, officials said the rumor is a hoax, started by a mass e-mail sent by an as yet unnamed person and they have the situation under control.
Trish Ahrensfield, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said the department began receiving telephone calls from concerned University community members Wednesday.
She said all the people referenced an e-mail sent to them describing the characteristics and personal traits of a man wanted by police for several counts of rape lurking around UNM campus.
Ahrensfield said it is possible the e-mails were sent in reference to a separate incident that began more than five weeks ago.
A local man was wanted by APD for questioning in a rape case. She said similar e-mails, but not as widespread, were sent in reference to that case.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Robert Smith, an Albuquerque resident, was eventually arrested near the corner of Carlisle and Menaul boulevards Thursday on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping, she said.
"There was no factual basis regarding this case in the e-mail that was sent to many people at UNM," she said. "It's a possibility this e-mail was a result of this case, and if it is, I want to assure the University community that he (Smith) is off the streets and poses no threat to anyone."
Recipients of the e-mail, who could number in the thousands, according to UNM officials, were told to avoid walking alone on campus at night, wearing risquÇ clothing and lingering too long in University parking lots.
UNM Police Department Lt. Mike Young said the department was contacted by APD Friday and briefed on the mass e-mail and the panic it was causing, as well as the arrest of Smith.
Young said UNMPD hadn't received any phone calls or complaints from panicked University community members about the e-mail, and that the department had not seen it.
Still, reassurance by officials was not enough to squash the paranoia the e-mail had caused many women at UNM, who say they are taking the news of Smith's arrest at face value.
"It's reassuring to know that the authorities are aware of the situation, but why would someone go to all the trouble of sending an e-mail that wasn't true?" UNM graduate student Jenny Estrada said.
Estrada said many women had taken the e-mail seriously and even changed their routines on campus to comply with its suggestions.
"Things like this spread like wildfire," she said. "I guess we'll have to wait it out."
Until then, Ahrensfield said she wants to assure community members there is nothing to fear from the e-mail.
"We are working hard to get to the bottom of this," she said. "But I want everyone to know that as far as the e-mail goes, there is nothing to worry about."
