Robbers punched a man near Jimenez Hall early Saturday morning, before stealing $4, a credit card and an insurance card from his pockets, a University Police spokesman said.
The victim and a woman were on Library Lane, the small road between Jimenez and St. Mary’s Halls, at about 12:45 a.m., when two robbers approached them, University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said.
A male robber then punched and robbed the male victim, before fleeing with a female robber toward McKeldin Library. The female victim was unharmed, Dillon said. Neither of the victims were associated with the university, he said.
University Police swarmed the campus in vehicles and on foot, radioing back and forth when they spotted suspects or finished searching portions of the campus. Vehicles zoomed down Knox Road, through Lot 1, and behind the Memorial Chapel and other areas as details of the robbers’ appearances trickled out from officers at the scene.
Despite efforts that lasted early into the morning, the suspects weren’t caught, Dillon said.
Officers responding to Saturday morning’s call speculated that the robbers might be the same duo who robbed two students on Aug. 12 outside the Art-Sociology Building. In that robbery, a male with a handgun stole $40 from students before fleeing in a truck with a female.
Dillon said it is too early to determine whether or not the crimes are connected.
It is not uncommon for police to see a rise in crime during the early weeks of the semester, especially when many students are new to the campus and are less aware of their surroundings. But a single robbery over a holiday weekend represents less crime than in previous years, when multiple crimes on a weekend have been common.
This year, five robberies have been reported to police so far. Last year, 15 were reported. In 2005, 18 were reported. Five off-campus robberies have been reported to Prince George’s Police, where University Police share patrol jurisdictions, according to University Police.
Violent crime on the campus and in the city reached record levels in 2005, and that summer also brought the first random on-campus shooting of a student in more than 20 years. A student was hospitalized after being shot in the buttock while walking near Susquehanna Hall. The student recovered and police arrested a Bowie man, but he was eventually acquitted after a defense attorney cast doubt on the shooter’s identity.
overlydbk@gmail.com
