By Dominique Heath, Columnist

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — What was supposed to be a simple Monday night watch party for Black students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill quickly turned into something much more frightening after a man with no affiliation to the university allegedly entered a locked campus building, yelled racial slurs and caused students to fear he may have had a weapon.

Now, students and parents want answers.

The incident happened inside Greenlaw Hall, where students had gathered to watch the Season 8 reunion of Love Island. The event was organized by several campus groups, including the African Student Association, UNC Black Student Movement, HBUNC Media Group and Sis2Sis.

According to UNC, campus police received the first report of a person harassing and threatening students around 9:21 p.m. Monday.

The man has since been identified as 45-year-old Keegan Carlisle Wilson of Raleigh. UNC said Wilson has no current affiliation with the university.

Students who were there said the situation became terrifying very quickly.

First-year student Zion Jones told several news organizations that the man began yelling racial slurs before reaching toward his waist. Not knowing what he was reaching for, students feared he could be pulling out a gun and some dropped to the floor or hid for cover.

Jones later said she realized he appeared to be holding an aerosol can and a lighter.

Videos shared from the scene showed a man behaving erratically outside Greenlaw Hall, including holding a lighter and aerosol can. Students eventually fled the building or found another way to get away from the situation.

Wilson was later taken into custody and transported to a hospital after university officials said he exhibited signs of mental distress.

But his detainment did not answer what has become one of the biggest questions surrounding the incident: How did he get into Greenlaw Hall at all?

UNC said the building had been locked since 7 p.m. Monday. Students attending the watch party also told WRAL they had to be let into the building because the doors were locked.

If students needed someone inside to open the door for them, they want to know how a man with no apparent connection to the university was able to make his way into the same building and eventually into their event.

The question is especially important to the student organizations that planned the event.

These groups intentionally create spaces where Black students and other students of color can gather, relax and build community on a predominantly white campus. Instead, students who came together for an ordinary watch party found themselves hiding, running from a building and wondering whether a stranger confronting them had a weapon.

The African Student Association said in a statement that its organizations work hard to create spaces where students can gather and feel safe and respected.

UNC's Black Student Movement also condemned the incident and offered its support to students who were present, saying no student should have to experience racism, intimidation or fear in a space meant for community.

The amount of time it took police to respond has become another point of concern.

UNC initially said 17 minutes passed between the first 911 call and Wilson being taken into custody. The university later said he was apprehended approximately 15 minutes after officers were dispatched.

To students who were inside the building and believed there was a possibility that the man was armed, those minutes mattered.

Jones upon learning the response time was rightfully frustrated, "17 minutes? That's unbelievable.”

There are also questions about why the broader UNC community was never warned about what was happening.

The university did not issue an Alert Carolina notification during the incident.

Alert Carolina is UNC's emergency communication system used to inform the campus about certain emergencies and threats. UNC said an alert was not sent because there was no longer an ongoing threat to campus safety after Wilson was detained.

That explanation may follow the university's emergency notification standards, but it does not erase the concern of students who were inside Greenlaw Hall while the situation was still unfolding.

They did not know whether the man had a gun. They did not know why he was reaching toward his waist. They did not know whether the danger was limited to their room or whether other students could encounter him.

For them, the threat was very real in that moment.

UNC Student Body President Devin Duncan said university police have been responsive while acknowledging that students still have questions that need to be answered.

University officials have also directed students affected by the incident to Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Wellness, the Heels Care Network and other campus support and reporting resources.

Wilson is expected to face charges of disorderly conduct, vandalism, damage to property and aggravated assault once he is medically cleared, according to UNC. The university has also said he will be banned from returning to campus.

Because students reported that racial slurs were directed toward the predominantly Black and Brown gathering, there are also questions about whether the incident could result in additional charges. UNC said the Orange County District Attorney's Office will ultimately determine whether further charges are appropriate.

The incident has already gained attention outside the university.

U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee, whose 4th Congressional District includes UNC-Chapel Hill, condemned the harassment Wednesday and called on the university to take the concerns of students seriously.

"No one in our society should ever face harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in school or anywhere else," Foushee said.

She also said UNC has a responsibility to protect its students and ensure that everyone on campus is treated with dignity and respect.

That responsibility is ultimately at the center of what students are asking for now.

Black students should not have to organize an ordinary campus event while also wondering whether the room they are gathering in is secure. They should not have to flee that space because someone entered yelling racial slurs. And after something like this does happen, they should not have to fight simply to understand how it was allowed to happen in the first place.

The National Society of Black Engineers and other student groups have said they are working with the university to determine how Wilson entered Greenlaw Hall and what additional protections may be needed for future events.

For students, that answer matters.