Authorities have arrested a Rowan University student after social media posts led them to find a handgun in his campus apartment.

Rowan Police were notified that a student had begun posting multiple pictures and videos on an Instagram account of the firearm with an extended magazine, according to court documents.

According to Rachel Baum, the Lieutenant Commander of the Rowan University Police Department, none of the identified images were overtly threatening to commit an act of violence with the gun. 

Within a matter of three hours, Rowan Police Department officers were able to identify the suspect and figure out his residence within the campus. 

The student, identified as 22-year-old Kevin Queen of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, was visited by campus police at his 230 Victoria apartment to inquire about the social media posts, as stated by police in the affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

Queen then gave officers verbal consent to search a shoebox where he stated a handgun and a 30-round magazine could be found, according to police.

Officers located a “P80” handgun and Queen was arrested on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit, third-degree possession of a firearm at a university, third-degree possession of a firearm without a serial number, and fourth-degree knowingly possessing a large-capacity ammunition magazine.

Queen is being held in the Salem County Correctional Facility pending court hearings.

A Rowan spokesperson confirmed Queen is a sports communication and media student at the university.

In the aftermath of the arrest, questions arose around campus about the lack of a Rowan Alert being sent out regarding the arrest. 

Dakota Eastman is a resident of 230 Victoria where the gun was found.

“Given the climate we live in today, I think your mind starts to think about the worst when you hear that. I’m thankful that Rowan Police was able to apprehend him before anything seriously bad happened but it was definitely unnerving to hear. The other part that shocked me is to my knowledge, Rowan never sent out an alert or update about this arrest. I found out because I was in a class with a professor who just happened to be showing us the daily crime log on Rowan’s website and this arrest was on it. I don’t think the average student is checking the crime log every day and I know we’ve gotten alerts before about burglaries and sexual assaults on campus, so why didn’t the university do the same with this? I understand there’s probably an open investigation so they can’t say too much, but I think I can probably speak for a lot of people when I say it would be nice to know when that arrest is made, as well as some other things like if he had a clear intention to harm Rowan students that was thwarted, or really any details they could share,” said Eastman.

The arrest was recorded in the Daily Crime Log, as is protocol. However, a Rowan Alert was not issued as those are only sent out in the event of an active, ongoing, and life-threatening emergency. 

“For the actual alerts, that decision is usually made in the moment, very quickly, when something’s occurring, because those… are meant for true life-threatening emergency situations, like an active shooter… Active shooter is the one that always comes to mind, because that’s the big one that everybody’s afraid of, but a bomb threat, like a tornado,” said Baum.

Baum also noted the differences in Rowan Alerts and Timely Warnings, which come after a crime like a sexual assault or robbery has occurred, in accordance with the Clery Act.

Kevin Koett is the Dean of Students and the Vice President of Student Life. He encouraged the use of the campus’s RowanSafe App in keeping the community safe when addressing the incident and reaffirmed the campus’s commitment to safety.

“Every situation we address provides us with valuable opportunities to become better in our work. In this instance, the lessons learned were that individuals reporting concerns to designated University Officials in a timely manner is a critical element of our community and was essential in the incident. In addition, we learned that our model for addressing concerns brought to our attention are efficient, and can be implanted quickly. As a result, Rowan Police were able to address this specific concern quickly and effectively,” said Koett. 

While some have asked why RAs are not doing more thorough room searches, Baum addresses the concerns authorities have with that process.

“We also have to think about what road we’re potentially going down if we want our student employees to be searching for potential weapons…what are they going to do when they find one? That could be a potentially dangerous situation for all involved,” said Baum.