GREENSBORO, N.C. — N.C. A&T campus police pulled over Brandon James Bentley after finding he was driving unsafely during the early morning of March 26, according to university officials who sent out an email a week later.

Police say they later discovered he had multiple weapons in the car. He was then arrested and police confiscated the weapons. 

What You Need To Know

  • Officers pulled Brandon Bentley over at the intersection of Sullivan Street and Benbow Road

  • N.C. A&T students are disappointed they found out about the incident a week later

  • Bentley is banned from the N.C. A&T campus

Although this incident happened March 26, students didn't find out until April 3. Students say they never received an Aggie alert, and that they heard about this incident first on social media and from parents calling them making sure they were OK. 

“It was unbelievable that I was finding out via Instagram, TikTok, the news, my parents calling me and I wasn't aware of it when it happened while I was on campus,” first-year student Kaliyah Keck said. “It was unbelievable that I was finding out via Instagram, TikTok, the news, my parents calling me and I wasn't aware of it when it happened while I was on campus,” first-year student Kaliyah Keck said. 

Bentley was taken into custody and campus officers were sent to his court appearance, which resulted in his bond being increased to $100,000. He’s also been banned from the school’s campus, according to school officials.

He has since posted bond and been released from jail. 

One student said since Bentley was arrested on the street that has a lot of dorms, and they should have known something happened faster than when they did. 

“I stay in Pride, so the dude, actually, he drove past Benbow Road,” sophomore William Manning said. “So them not letting us know is not good on their part because anything could have happened.”

Some students felt as though their administration should have done more to let them know of the incident.

“I feel like administration tried to put it under the rug, and they said that, because he was already arrested and in custody, they didn’t send an Aggie alert. But I feel like even as an Aggie alert, you should still send something out because of that many weapons. It made us feel unsafe. People didn’t go to parties yesterday, and they didn’t feel like going outside,” first-year student Danielle Williams said. 

Initially the University declined to comment, but later gave Spectrum News 1 a statement. 

"Because the only suspect in this case was taken immediately into custody and incarcerated and his weapons confiscated, there was no ongoing threat that needed to be communicated to constituents," said Todd Simmons, associate vice chancelor of media relations.

In a Zoom meeting with school officials, parents and students on April 5, Chancellor Harold Martin acknowledged the school should have informed students of what happened at least a day after the incident.

Martin said because the situation was handled quickly and there was no imminent threat, that's why students were not notified right away.