A criminal investigation has been opened after a resident discovered a hidden camera in a fake smoke detector in their apartment at the student housing complex University Oaks. An email was sent out by UTSA Housing that following Thursday, Sept. 29, announcing to the residents that inspections and investigations are underway. 

“This remains an active investigation,” Joe Izbrand, UTSA’s chief communications officer, said. “Inspections of all the smoke detectors in Guadalupe Hall, Chisholm Hall, Alvarez Hall and Chaparral Village have been completed. Nothing unusual was found.”

Inspections also took place at Laurel Village on Monday, Oct. 3, and at the University Oaks complex on Tuesday, Oct. 4. 

UTSA Housing announced in the email that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be involved in determining the source of the devices used and assessing the general scope of the situation, including any suspects. 

“As soon as I had seen the email, I was looking at it trying to see if it was real,” University Oaks resident Nekechi Okoro said. “I saw how they got the FBI involved, and that’s [exactly] what they need.”

Okoro acknowledged that they are handling the situation well now but wondered how this was not caught in the first place. Resident Isaiah Williams expressed a similar opinion. 

“I was really shocked that someone would even set that up,” Williams said. 

University Oaks is owned and operated by Campus Living Villages, not by UTSA; however, UTSA Housing is said to be coordinating closely with the property managers to obtain a response. 

“Before [University Oaks] let people move in, they should [have done] a complete walk-through of everything that could possibly have those types of hazards,” Okoro said. 

UTSA Housing emphasizes that safety is their top priority and urges students that have any concerns or discover anything unusual to reach out to the UTSA Police Department immediately through their non-emergency line at 210-458-4242.

 The Paisano reached out to the UTSA Police Department and University Oaks for a response and received no comment.