A lecturer at Sacramento State University is under investigation by the school after making a string of explicit and concerning public social media posts. Some students say their safety may have been at risk, and the university should have done more sooner.Several people asked KCRA 3 Investigates to shine a light on what happened.“It got wild fast,” one student said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.Students in Lecturer Tavarus Blackmon’s art class told KCRA that they were worried about his behavior.“The class started out pretty normal,” one of his students said.However, she said, that changed about a month into the semester.Students said that Blackmon canceled a few classes.Then, he sent students an odd message on October 7.“Dear class, I am homeless. I will not teach this way,” the message said.Students told KCRA that they were confused and started checking Blackmon’s social media.He was posting publicly at the time, stating that he was forced out of his home after his wife filed for a domestic violence restraining order.KCRA 3 Investigates got a copy of the restraining order request, which had been filed on Oct. 1.In it, Blackmon's wife stated that her husband struggles with bipolar schizophrenia and was having another psychotic breakdown, resulting in him being physically abusive.On social media, Blackmon denied the allegations, but a court did later grant the restraining order for 5 years.“There are people in this class who were survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse,” a student said. “We're all looking at the situation like we were encouraged to be alone in a room with this man.”Then, they said, there were other concerning posts. In one video, Blackmon talked about stabbing himself in the heart after Columbine, mentioning the 1999 school shooting. In another post, he referenced sexual acts with college kids.“We were looking at it, and he's saying these very highly explicit things,” the student said.By this point, the art department chair had advised Blackmon’s students not to meet him off campus. He was "undergoing some personal difficulties” and was no longer their instructor, her message informed them.By the evening of October 7, one of Blackmon’s social media posts from campus prompted a welfare check from university police. But by the time officers arrived at Kadema Hall, he was gone.“He’s clearly unwell, and he does not know that he's unwell,” a student said.However, the student believes that the university should have known.“He should have never been put in that situation because that takes it from being his personal battle and his family's personal battle, and putting it into the limelight and making his personal problem, also the problem of the university and a safety issue for everyone who's at the university,” the student said.This begs the question: What did the university know before hiring him?Sacramento State told KCRA that it hired Blackmon as a lecturer in 2021 after a background check. So, KCRA 3 Investigates did our own background check, revealing a history of mental health issues tied to allegations that he has harmed himself and others. In fact, one year before the university hired him, Blackmon pleaded no contest to a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to probation.Investigators said Blackmon went into his neighbor's house while the man was sleeping and hit him in the face with a tree branch about 10 times, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office report from his 2017 arrest.Afterward, deputies said they found Blackmon naked, "sitting on a toilet in the front yard" with "blood on his right hand."Blackmon said he was "getting visions and messages" and "was doing what the voices wanted him to do." This was all well before Sac State gave Blackmon a job as a lecturer.“The reason we're in the situation is because they didn't thoroughly check on this person before they hired him,” one of Blackmon’s students said. “The university should have prevented this situation from happening and should have handled it better.”Sacramento State provided the statement below:The actions alleged to have been committed by a Sacramento State lecturer are troubling and totally at odds with the University’s values. While an investigation into the lecturer’s actions continues, Sac State will continue to take all measures to maintain the safety of our students and the campus community.The person in question is not now teaching at Sac State and has no University-sanctioned contact with students. The University has no comment about specifics of the allegations and will not provide further information as it relates to the ongoing personnel issue. Sac State will continue to look into the allegations while preserving safety and ensuring that students are provided the education they expect and deserve.KCRA 3 Investigates spoke to Blackmon briefly over the phone, but he did not want to discuss the allegations against him and hung up.