Sandburg Domestic Violence Allegation Underscores Growing Trend on Campus

Domestic violence incidents are rising at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with a recent arrest at Sandburg Residence Hall highlighting a growing pattern of alleged violence reported on campus, particularly within student housing.

An 18-year-old man was arrested Feb. 1 at Sandburg Residence Hall after police responded to an alleged domestic violence incident, according to a criminal complaint. The arrest was the second of six domestic violence incidents reported at Sandburg Residence Hall so far in 2026.

A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student reported the incident at the Sandburg front desk, telling staff through tears that their boyfriend was trying to kill them.

The suspect, identified as Aydan Hudson, allegedly strangled the victim during an argument about going to bed. The complaint states Hudson also struck the victim in the head and pulled their hair as they attempted to escape.

When University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police arrived, Hudson allegedly attempted to leave the building and resisted officers’ efforts to detain him.

During the struggle, officers discovered a pistol in Hudson’s waistband. The weapon was a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine capable of holding 27 rounds. The magazine contained 25 rounds, though no round was chambered the criminal complaint added.

Hudson was charged Feb. 3 in Milwaukee County with six counts, including strangulation and suffocation, misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct, all with domestic abuse modifiers. Additional charges include resisting an officer, carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a firearm in a public building.

Court records show he was previously convicted of misdemeanor possession of an illegally obtained prescription medication and disorderly conduct. Those convictions predate the February incident.

Hudson was later added to a list of individuals banned from the UWM campus, bringing the total to 35, according to the university police website.

The incident was one of four domestic violence cases reported at Sandburg Residence Hall in February and the second of six reported on campus so far this year, according to the university’s daily crime log.

The UWM police daily crime log also shows a strangulation and a fourth-degree sexual assault at Sandburg Residence Hall in February, a stalking incident near Vogel Hall on March 10 and a dating violence incident in Riverview Residential Hall on March 22.

University records show a steady rise in reported domestic violence cases in recent years, with incidents increasingly concentrated in residence halls. There was one reported case in 2022, followed by five in 2023, four of which occurred in residence halls. In 2024, the number climbed to 11, all within residence halls, according to the university’s 2025 Annual Security and Safety Report.

Data for 2025 has not yet been released, but campus police have already surpassed the full-year domestic violence totals for 2022 and 2023 in just the first three months of 2026, and exceeded more than half the total reported in 2024

The university offers mandatory online training programs covering consent, healthy relationships, dating and domestic violence, stalking, and sexual harassment.

Those programs also outline legal definitions, victim rights, and campus resources available to survivors.

Additionally, the Women’s Resource Center and LGBTQ+ Resource Center provide a free collection of more than 200 books, DVDs, and other materials on sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and domestic violence for students and staff.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee failed to comment and UWM Housing declined to comment. Sandburg Residence Hall staff also declined to comment.