Police are still investigating the robbery involving a Northwestern student that occurred Wednesday night, but more details were released Thursday.
A man approached the student from behind while she was walking down Foster Street around 7:45 p.m., Evanston Police Cmdr. Tom Guenther said.
The student struggled with the robber and yelled for help, drawing the attention of two people nearby who came to her aid.
The robber grabbed her purse off her shoulder and ran away. The student and the two people who came to her aid followed the attacker and tracked him down behind a yard, Guenther said.
The three confronted him again and demanded the purse, but the robber ran away once again. As he was running, however, he dropped the student’s purse, and she was able to get it back, Guenther said.
An emergency e-mail alert from the University on Wednesday night said the woman reported nothing missing from her purse. She suffered minor injuries but declined to seek medical attention.
The e-mail described the robber as a white male between 18 and 22 years old, six feet tall and with short or balding blond hair. He wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and long, dark pants.
In the off-campus newsletter e-mail sent to students Thursday night, Dean of Students Burgwell Howard reminded students to pay attention to personal safety, advising students to use campus shuttles and SafeRide and not to listen to music while walking at night.
