Metropolitan and University Police officers arrested a man early Friday morning for entering a West End residence hall room and allegedly punching students.

Residents “challenged” the suspect after he entered and walked around their room at about 1 a.m., according to a Metropolitan Police Department crime report. He told them to “shut up” before striking them, the report states.

Mergen Battulga, 34, entered the building behind a group of students who swiped into the residence hall, University Police Department Chief Kevin Hay said. An investigation found that the man attempted to enter two minutes earlier while the door was locked, Hay added.

Battulga first visited the fifth floor and entered a female student’s room, allegedly verbally threatening her when she questioned him, Hay said. She called UPD and Battulga left her room.

He then kicked and banged on other doors, asking for an individual named “Sharsha,” before getting into a fight with male students. The male students only sustained minor injuries, Hay said.

UPD and MPD found Battulga on the second floor and jointly took him into custody, following a “physical altercation with officers,” Hay said.

Hay has highlighted “piggy-backing” – when someone trails into a building behind a resident – as a campus-wide issue, and UPD began cracking down on who can access residence halls earlier this month.

Battulga has been charged with burglary, Hay said.

He pleaded not guilty to D.C. Superior Court charges at an arraignment Friday afternoon and is slated to face a misdemeanor status hearing Nov. 14. The court also issued Battulga a stay-away order with his release conditions.