Two McCormick students were robbed at gunpoint in a west Evanston alley early Tuesday morning in the first Evanston mugging of Northwestern students in six months, police said.

Two men wearing ski masks — one of whom had a silver handgun — approached McCormick freshman Sylvester Ogletree and McCormick sophomore Craig Carter in an alley on the 2100 block of Dewey Avenue at about 2 a.m. The gunman told the students to throw their wallets on the hood of a nearby car, said Deputy Chief Joe Bellino of Evanston Police Department.

“Take out your wallets and give me all your money,” the assailant said, according to Carter.

The men stole Ogletree’s wallet, which contained his WildCARD, driver’s license and debit card, as well as $4 from Carter’s money clip, Bellino said.

“We were wearing suits, and they must have assumed we had a lot of money,” Carter said.

Carter said they had attended a banquet earlier that night and hung out at a friend’s house afterward. They were in the alley behind their friend’s house when the masked men appeared.

Carter and Ogletree both said they didn’t take the men seriously until they saw the gun.

“I was hesitant and thinking about throwing the wallet under the car but he said, ‘I’ll blaze your ass,'” Carter said. “I was thinking, ‘I still got homework to do tonight.'”

Carter said he threw his wallet with a money clip attached to it on top of the car, while Ogletree set his wallet on the ground. One man took Ogletree’s wallet and the cash from Carter’s money clip but left Carter’s wallet.

After they took the money, the two muggers ran down the street, and the students went inside their friend’s house, Ogletree said. He said he was relieved to see the police respond minutes after their 911 call, but Bellino said police were not able to apprehend the robbers.

The man holding the gun was about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 pounds, Bellino said. The second mugger was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, he said. Both were wearing black jackets, Bellino said.

Despite the mugging, Ogletree and Carter both said they still feel safe walking around Evanston.

“You can’t judge a city by one thing,” Ogletree said. “It was an isolated incident.”

Bellino noted that armed muggings happen throughout the year.

“They can occur almost anywhere in town,” Bellino said. “Everybody should be cognizant of the area they are in and what they are doing.”

Reach Amy Hamblin at [email protected].