Confusion was the predominant reaction in Becton Hall as the news traveled that two residents had been arrested for attempted robbery and assault Thursday.

Residents said they were unable to understand possible motives, but were also unsure why they were not informed of the situation by the Raleigh and Campus Police officers on the scene.

“I knew them both — I never thought something like that would ever happen to them.”

“I wonder about the motivation.”

“I never even heard any kind of fighting from him.”

“It just seems so out of the blue, so spontaneous.”

These were the comments from a group of residents in Becton Hall Thursday night while watching the newscast of two of their hallmates being escorted into police cars.

Confusion surrounds the case of James Lyons, who went by “Donnie” among friends, and Timothy Williams, known on his floor as “Shorty.”

Most of their close friends were unwilling to talk about possible motives, and others simply said they couldn’t imagine where the alleged actions could have come from.

The confusion residents expressed about such motives is followed by confusion at the way the incident was handled by law enforcement in the hall.

“It would have been nice to know, but there was no point getting everyone worried and in a panic,” said Jon Chichwak, a sophomore in political science.

Lt. Ric Parmley of Campus Police echoed these sentiments.

“Sometimes it’s safer not to inform so that people continue to function normally and don’t unintentionally interrupt operations,” he said.

Some residents marked that what was most unsettling was the amount of Raleigh Police presence in the area.

“In this case it was a two-prong effort, Campus Police was mostly assisting in securing the area,” said Lt. Parmley. “Raleigh’s investigative department [was] working with ours.”

Several residents asked the waiting Raleigh Police what was going on and were told that the incident was a drug bust. Others said that the officers joked and said that it was an ID check.

But some residents didn’t see the humor, pointing out that they could have been put in harms way.

“If these guys did it, then they were still armed and dangerous [Thursday],” Tom Battle, a junior in marketing and finance, said. “Obviously the police thought they were going to come back to the dorm, or they wouldn’t have been camped out in front of his door. So why didn’t they think it important to tell us residents they thought an armed and dangerous individual was going to come walking down our hall?”

Parmley stresses that the situation was handled in such a way that this was not an issue.

“The individuals had no idea we were coming after them … there was little or no threat to residents,” he said. “Had there been a threat, we would’ve taken the necessary steps to protect the students — whether that would have been to inform them or evacuate.”