An armed robbery of a Northwestern graduate student Sunday marks the fifth incident in a string of attacks against students on or near the Evanston Campus this fall. The incident is the first attack of the year where a gun was displayed.
Sunday’s robbery means after only five weeks of classes, NU is just two incidents away from matching the total number of attacks reported all last year.
The incident occurred at about 1 a.m. Sunday on the 900 block of Elmwood Avenue. Two Music graduate students told Evanston Police Department they were walking to an apartment after parking a vehicle on the same block, according to the EPD report. They noticed two men walking behind them and crossed to the other side of the street. The men followed, the report said.
The students approached and unlocked the apartment building’s gate and were pushed inside by the men, the report stated.
One of the men asked for the students’ money and the second man pointed a gun at one student’s head, the student told EPD. The student described the gun as a smaller version of the 9mm handgun the responding officer was carrying the report said.
The student said he gave the man his cell phone. He attempted to give the man his cash, but the man took his wallet and left. The wallet contained a Northwestern WildCARD, an Illinois driver’s license, between $60 and $70 cash, two credit cards and miscellaneous business cards, according to the report.
Neither of the students were injured in the incident, EPD said.
The men were described as wearing hooded sweatshirts and being about 18 to 20 years old, according to the EPD report. One man was described as about 5’8″ with a stocky build, EPD said.
The student whose wallet and phone were taken said he believed he could identify the men if he were asked to.
The incident is under investigation, said Deputy Chief Joseph Bellino of EPD.
The first robbery on or near the Evanston Campus this year occurred Oct. 3 at Hinman Avenue and Clark Street. A second robbery occurred Oct. 11 on the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue, where a Weinberg senior’s purse was stolen shortly after midnight.
Two other attacks – one in the sorority quads and the other between Pratt Avenue and Maple Avenue – occurred later that week. EPD said they do not believe the attacks are connected.
Reach Laura Olson at [email protected].
