Just before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, a man embarked on a campus stroll completely naked with a book in hand, dumbfounding students. 

It is unclear what the individual’s name, motivation or intended destination was, as well as whether or not he is an FAU student.

While en route to her 9:30 a.m. class, sophomore Taylor Bendfeldt noticed the nude individual crossing the crosswalk just outside University Village Apartments (UVA).

Bendfeldt said the man walked to his car in the parking lot just in front of UVA, but she didn’t see him drive away. 

“I thought maybe he had something covering up his front, but when he turned sideways I realized he wasn’t,” Bendfeldt said. “I called FAU police right away and they said they already had a few calls coming in and were on their way. Seconds later, I heard the sirens approach but I am unsure of anything after that.”

An anonymous tip from an FAU student that resides in UVA mentioned that the individual was sitting naked on a bench next to the swing set near building 60C calmly reading a book at around 9:15 a.m.

“It definitely was out of the ordinary so I thought he was having a mental episode, that’s why I didn’t want to approach him,” the student said.  

Catie Roach, parking for class at the parking garage near the Hibel Fine Arts building, witnessed the individual lying on the floor, seemingly in a distressed state, surrounded by about five FAU police officers. Roach noted the officers attempted to assist and communicate with the student, who was reportedly speaking incoherently. 

“[The officers] apprehended him on the second floor [of the parking garage]… and he was speaking but it wasn’t exactly in a language, it just sounded more like gibberish,” Roach said. “And my car was fairly close enough, so if I could hear the police speak perfectly, I feel like I would’ve been able to hear [the individual] as well.”

Roach observed the scene for five minutes and noticed no change in the student’s position or condition. 

It is unclear where the individual is now or what happened after Roach left the scene, as FAU Police Department did not respond for comment by the time of publication.  

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Laurie Mermet is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or DM laurie.mmt on Instagram.