There are a whole lot of unanswered questions regarding an incident on Saturday that occurred in advance of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s home football game against Mars Hill, in an area for tailgating.

They are likely to remain unanswered until the university completes an internal investigation, so those who want to know everything immediately will have to be patient. We have full confidence in the university’s leadership to ensure there is a public disclosure of what happened, at least as far as state law allows, and that if punishment is required, it will match the act.

We first learned there was a problem on Saturday afternoon, on social media, when people began commenting on what had happened, asking why a campus police officer would use pepper spray that affected as many as a few dozen people, wondering precisely: What prompted its use?

We still don’t know.

We have had multiple people who were there that day reach out to us, and their stories pretty much match. They all said they were minding their own business when they were overcome with pepper spray, which we know is not a pleasant experience. Caught up in the cloud, we were told, were people ranging from very young to pretty old, and included more than one woman who was pregnant.

From what we have been able to discern, the pepper spray was used on a limited number of people not following a campus officer’s orders, but wind carried it to cause problems for others.

We know that the university asked people with information to reach out to UNCP investigators — and we will widen that call now.

Chancellor Robin Cummings addressed the incident in an email to alumni, confirming it happened, and adding:

“This is an unfortunate occurrence that comes as we finish a week of celebrating our beloved university. I want to assure you the security of our campus community, especially our students, is my top priority, a responsibility taken very seriously. We are proud UNC Pembroke is one of the safest campuses in the state and will do all we can to ensure our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members have confidence in their personal safety and our commitment to their dignity while on campus. We have a common bond. That bond will not be broken but strengthened as we learn how better to live as BraveNation. “

What happened on Saturday at UNCP is unfortunate, and it should not be diminished as people who were out to enjoy a fall day and football suffered varying degrees of injuries through no fault of their own. But it could have happened anywhere, and says very little about UNCP and safety on that campus, which ranks well when compared with sister institutions.

What appears to be a rogue and ill-advised act by a single police officer should not rob that community of the comfort of knowing that the campus is a safe place to be. UNCP’s campus is one of the safest places to be in Robeson County, and that remains true today.