GLASSBORO - Two black students who faced gun-wielding officers in a Rowan University parking lot were initially suspected of having a weapon in their car, according to borough police.

The heavy show of force against the students — a tense encounter recorded by multiple onlookers — has raised concerns among Rowan's community, the school acknowledged in an email to students Wednesday.

It said an open forum will be held Friday to address issues raised by the incident.

Glassboro Police Chief Franklin J. Brown Jr. defended his officers in a summary of the event released Wednesday afternoon.

He said the incident began around 4:30 p.m. Monday when "a concerned citizen" approached officers investigating a shoplifting at the Collegetown Shopping Center on North Delsea Drive.

The citizen told police he had just seen a black male with a gun entering a black Dodge Charger parked in a fire lane. The witness then pointed to a vehicle leaving the shopping center, the chief's account said.

An officer in the area followed the vehicle to Rowan, where it was stopped on North Campus Drive.

"The police thought at that time there was an imminent threat," said Rowan spokesman Joe Cardona, who noted Rowan University officers also responded to the parking lot.

A video shot by an onlooker showed a real-life drama as a young man walked slowly backwards in the parking lot, his hands raised high above his head.

As police officers shouted commands, the student slowly dropped to his knees, then had his hands cuffed behind his back before being led away, the video shows.

An onlooker can be heard on the video, describing a separate police encounter with a passenger in a nearby vehicle.

"He still has a gun pointed at the girl in the car," the female onlooker can be heard telling friends. "It's a girl in the car with her hands out! Why are you intimidating her like that?"

Moments later, a young woman repeated the path followed by her friend — walking backwards, kneeling and being led away in cuffs.

Cardona noted the gunpoint encounter occurred next to the school's recreation center and a residence hall.

“There were a lot of people watching this go on,” he said.

In his account, the Glassboro police chief said officers "utilized their training and followed established protocol to ensure the safety of everyone involved in this incident."

Brown said the Rowan students "were compliant with the officers' directions" and were released at the scene after a search of the vehicle did not find a gun.

"Officers have an obligation to investigate when this type of information is provided regarding a serious threat of an alleged armed subject," the chief said.

He asserted officers acted "for the safety of all involved, including the people that are subject of the investigation."

He also noted initial accounts of the incident were mistaken, saying police had not mistaken the students for armed robbery suspects and had not stopped the wrong car.

In an email to students, Rowan said the incident "has troubled some of the university community" and "has sparked a broader conversation about race relations, specifically in the area of law enforcement."

It said the open forum will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in the Student Center ballroom.

“This echoes conversations that are happening across the country," Cardona said.

Rbre Singleton, the Student Government Association's president, said the students had "reached out to our office for support and recourse in the wake of this encounter."

He noted the SGA acts "as a student voice for the campus community, serving as an outlet for student concerns and investigating solutions to various issues."

Singleton said the SGA's executive board "is taking the appropriate steps to fulfill these obligations in the wake of this incident."

Fox 29 interviewed the students, identifying them as 21-year-old Altaif Hassan and Giavanna Roberson, 18.

Hassan said the incident occurred as he and Roberson were returning to campus from a store.

Jim Walsh: @jimwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com

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