Sex offenders have apparently given up the tried-and-true methods of luring in unsuspecting prey—that is, driving up to schools with vans marked “Free Candy”—in favor of more aggressive ones, such as living in our college libraries.

According to the Cornell Daily Sun, a 21-year-old, non-student sex offender was arrested in the University of Illinois library where he was found carrying a three-inch knife and undoubtedly lying in wait for an unsuspecting coed to wander into the aisle at night.

What’s more frightening, however, is that he may or may not have been living there – behind one of the moveable bookshelves.

The Cornell Daily Sun reports:

The offender was a 21-year old non-student. Police originally believed he had been living there for a while since security guards had seem him in the building for a few days and noticed a blanket by the movable bookshelves that was presumably his since he had a blanket with him when he was arrested. But the library stated that since library staff and security guards walk through the building several times a day, it would have been impossible for him to live there. Since then, the University Police said that as of now, there would be no way to tell whether he had been living there or not. So at best we are left with ambiguity.

The point is, however, that, it is not inconceivable that something like this would happen. Friends of mine have joked about spending the night or living for a few days in the library stacks.

Is there no solace from the perils of the outside world to be found at our fine Universities? Apparently, no.

As the Josh Pothen of the Daily Sun pointed out, this could theoretically happen at any university, especially when our college libraries are designed in such a way that people could get lost for weeks wandering around in the dark, dreary stacks.

Still, if you ever find yourself staring down a sex offender in the biology aisle, don’t submit. Instead, grab the nearest 30lb. textbook [HINT: they’ll be all around you], and bludgeon him to death.