An undergraduate student was robbed at about 1 a.m. Sunday on East Campus between Bassett and Brown residence halls.
The student was approached by two individuals who took an iPad and wallet, according to a Duke University Police Department release Sunday. The student was not injured, though the suspects indicated that they had a weapon.
The student described the suspects as black males, one wearing a white, hooded sweatshirt and one wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt, according to the release. The suspects were last seen running away from East Campus toward Buchanan and Markham streets.
Dailey declined to give the name or year of the student involved to protect the student’s identity.
Students and faculty received a DukeAlert notification of the incident via email after 2 a.m. and those who registered for emergency mobile updates also received a text message.
Dailey said DUPD plans to address East Campus safety concerns by concentrating more patrols in the area and working closely with the Durham Police Department to identify the suspects.
DUPD will also increase the number of security officers stationed on East. Dailey said he plans to make some changes that will be less visible, noting that he could not specify what the changes will be in order to preserve their efficacy.
“This kind of crime is very hard to intervene,” Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said. “It’s obviously a crime of opportunity.... I know how hard it is to identify the particular areas that one can increase security around because crimes like these can happen almost anywhere.”
Muggings are one of the more common crimes that happen on and around campus, Moneta said. He added that the University is staying in touch with the student who was robbed in order to provide continued support after the incident.
Freshman Addison Navarro was walking on the East Campus Main Quadrangle at about 1 a.m., though she said she did not notice a disturbance.
“I was walking on the sidewalk, and I was on the phone, so I wasn’t really looking around me,” Navarro said. “But I didn’t see anything or hear anything either.”
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