Gibsonville man arrested after armed assault near Elon student housing

A gun, a shove into a bush and a 2:38 a.m. campus alert have turned an assault near Elon University’s Mill Point housing into a broader safety concern for students living beside the Love Family Student Commons.

Elon University police said the assault happened Sunday, April 5, in the Mill Point neighborhood near The Station at Mill Point, an on-campus residential area for juniors and seniors. University officials told students the incident involved a gun and sent an E-Alert to students, faculty and staff warning them to remain vigilant.

Court documents cited in reporting said 36-year-old Antonio Burns of Gibsonville allegedly covered a woman’s mouth and pushed her into a nearby bush before she escaped and got to a safe location to call police. Officers later identified Burns as the suspect, and Elon University announced on April 9 that an arrest had been made in connection with the assault.

Burns was taken into custody with help from the Gibsonville Police Department. He was charged with felony possession of a gun on educational property, misdemeanor assault on a female, misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor false imprisonment. He was held at the Alamance County Detention Center without bond.

The case matters beyond the arrest itself because the reported assault happened in the middle of a student housing area, not at the edge of campus or in an isolated lot. The Station at Mill Point sits close to campus, and The Crest Apartments are managed through the Station office in the Love Family Student Commons, placing more students within the same housing network where the assault occurred.

Elon University says its Campus Safety and Police department provides patrol, crime prevention, security staff and support for the campus community. The department also says it is dual accredited by CALEA and IACLEA, a detail that underscores the university’s reliance on formal policing standards as it faces another reminder that overnight safety around student housing remains a live concern.

Elon News Network reported that as of April 10, Burns was awaiting arraignment in Alamance County court and was scheduled to appear May 1. In Alamance County, where the sheriff’s office serves more than 170,000 residents across 435 square miles, the case will move through a court system that has fully transitioned to eCourts across North Carolina’s 100 counties.

Elon University’s student-life emergency resources say sexual assault, relationship abuse, stalking or sexual harassment concerns can be directed to SAFELINE at (336) 278-3333.