University Police
Prince George’s County Police received reports of two armed robberies and one attempted robbery Wednesday night that may all be related, officials said.
In the first incident, which occurred around 7:30 p.m., the suspect allegedly punched a male student in the face and stole his cell phone on Route 1 near University Boulevard. The student’s mother took him to Laurel Regional Hospital, where he received treatment for minor injuries, Dist. 1 Commander Maj. Robert Brewer said. After receiving treatment, the student reported the incident to police.
Around 10:30 p.m., two more armed robberies happened in quick succession on a trail behind the University View, police said. A suspect allegedly displayed a gun and demanded money from two students, one male and one female. While the female student complied with the suspect’s demands and handed over her cell phone, the male student did not comply, according to police.
“There were three robberies in College Park, and we think they were related,” Brewer said. “But it’s still a preliminary investigation.”
Brewer added the second two incidents were “definitely” related and believes the suspect in both instances is the same black male, who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Police are still gathering evidence regarding the first incident, Brewer said.
“They may not be related, but we really think they are,” he said.
Police sent a crime alert around 11 p.m. Wednesday to inform students of the incident involving the female student. The victims in the first and third incidents did not report the crimes until after the message had been sent out, Brewer said.
University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky said that at the time of the alert, his department was unaware of the other two robberies. They learned about the incidents Thursday morning and planned to update the alert.
“We were not aware of three incidents,” Limansky said. “I had information this morning of the second 10:30 incident, but not the first one. It may have been too far away from campus for Prince George’s County Police to notify us about it for another alert.”
