Two instances of armed robbery on and near Duke’s campus were reported by students since Thursday. These latest robberies are the third and fourth gunpoint robberies affecting the Duke community since the beginning of the academic year.
Two instances of armed robbery on and near Duke’s campus were reported by students since Thursday. These latest robberies are the third and fourth gunpoint robberies affecting the Duke community since the beginning of the academic year. The first two incidents took place on Central Campus; the most recent incidents occurred on West Campus and the area adjacent to East Campus.
A 17-year-old student reported that at about 2:15 a.m. Saturday near the end of the Edens Drive fire lane a man showed him a gun and told him to put his wallet on a picnic table. The man then took the wallet and walked into the woods, Maj. Phyllis Cooper, a spokesperson for Duke University Police Department, said in a statement.
The student was unharmed and called the police from Rick’s Diner in McClendon Tower. The suspect is described as a black man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a dark mesh camouflage T-shirt, dark blue jeans and a dark hat.
Friday’s incident has not been linked to the two armed robberies on Central Campus earlier this year.
The other incident occurred just after 1 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Gregson and Minerva streets a few blocks off East. Four students returning from Satisfaction Restaurant in Brightleaf Square were approached by two men, one of whom students thought was holding a handgun. The men told the students to sit on the ground and hand over their wallets, cash and cell phones. No injuries were reported.
Durham Police Department is handling the off-campus robbery.
DUPD officers reminded students to continue safety practices such as keeping their doors locked and not walking alone at night. “There is safety in numbers. Unfortunately a man with a gun outnumbers four students,” DUPD Chief Clarence Birkhead said.
In response to the on-campus incident, the DUPD plans to double the number of contracted security officers on campus, Birkhead said. He noted that additional resources have already been deployed since students returned to campus.
“We’re calling in the Duke Police officers who are off so they will be working overtime, all in an effort to increase our uniformed presence on campus, to act as a deterrent to crime, but also to increase the feeling of security,” said Birkhead, adding that many of the patrols would now be walking or bicycle patrols. In addition, he said, DUPD will reach out to Durham city and county police to possibly contract some of their off-duty officers.
The two previous armed robberies both occurred on Central Campus. A visiting faculty member was robbed at gunpoint while walking on a path near the Sarah P. Duke Gardens Sept. 8, and a delivery person for Satisfaction was robbed at gunpoint near 302 Anderson St. Aug. 23. DUPD has not determined if either of the Central incidents are related or if either is related to the most recent robberies.
Administrators said that Duke’s campus is generally a safe place to be. Student concern, however, has risen recently.
“I personally believe that students do not feel as safe as they should be on campus,” said junior Jesse Longoria, Duke Student Government vice president for facilities and athletics. “It’s the responsibility of the administration to provide us with as safe a situation as possible. It’s the responsibility of the students to practice the highest state of awareness in the situation that’s provided by security officers and security personnel. I don’t believe students are provided with the most secure situation possible.”
Administrators are working on a more comprehensive safety plan than the one currently in place, said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. He noted that the University was taking the recent events very seriously.
“This is something very new in my experience,” Burness said. “It’s true that there are occasional off-campus incidents, but this is pretty new stuff, and we are going to address it and address it aggressively.”
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, sent an e-mail out to the entire student body at noon Saturday. The notice included a link to a website with the press release about the robberies and a reminder for students to practice regular safety measures.
“Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a rash of robberies to occur at the start of an academic year as some individuals see college students as quick targets for easy cash,” Moneta wrote in the letter, adding that he hoped increased police coverage would help deter future crime.
Longoria said he was concerned about the level of communication students received. “If there’s a consistent pattern, students need to know what that pattern is,” he said. He also noted that students have received no advice about how to handle themselves in situations when they might be victims of crime.
DUPD encourages anyone with information about either of the two recent incidents to contact officers at 684-2444.
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