A visiting faculty member in the German department was robbed at gunpoint Wednesday at about 8:10 a.m. while she was walking on a path on Central Campus near the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.
The woman was walking alone when a man jumped in front of her and put a blue-colored gun to her face and demanded money, said Maj. Phyllis Cooper, a Duke University Police Department spokesperson. The victim handed over her wallet and the suspect pushed her back toward the path while he ran toward Anderson Street. The woman’s colleagues said she went home after spending several hours with the police.
The suspect is described as a black man in his early 20s. He was last seen carrying a backpack and wearing a faded black T-shirt and blue jeans. Police are working with the victim and the Durham Police Department to compile a complete description to compare with a database of past offenders.
This is the second armed assault in that block of Central Campus in two and a half weeks. A delivery person for Satisfaction Restaurant was robbed at gunpoint near 302 Anderson St. Aug. 23.
DUPD has not yet determined whether Wednesday’s robbery is related to the one at the end of August, Cooper said. No suspect has been arrested in conjunction with the earlier robbery. “It seems to be there’s been a lot of this type of crime in Durham recently, and I don’t know why that is,” Cooper said before reminding community members to walk in pairs, lock their doors and “think safety.”
The geography of Central Campus features multiple niches that are difficult to patrol and a number of streets that facilitate easy escape. Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said the University is considering large-scale changes to make Central Campus safer, and Duke’s plans to overhaul the campus focus on improving security.
But such changes are still several years from realization, and students are expressing frustration with the way DUPD has reacted to recent crime on campus. “I can’t help it if I’m going to get out of my car,” sophomore Racine Harris said. “How about I call Duke Police every time I want to get out of my car, and they can come help me. We don’t put ourselves in harm’s way on purpose.”
The University plans to increase the security presence on campus, Trask said. Police patrols were increased following several reports of armed robberies on campus last year. In November 2003 a student reported that he was robbed at the ATM in the Bryan Center; another student was allegedly robbed at gunpoint on Erwin Road the same week. Last April a student reported being held up at knifepoint at the corner of Erwin Road and Anderson Street.
Students said police have concentrated resources in the wrong areas. “When you see them in numbers, it’s never a place where someone could be in danger,” sophomore Tiffany Scott said. “But when you need them, they’re never around.”
Students said despite their complaints they feel relatively safe on campus, and they regularly practice basic safety measures such as walking in pairs and locking their doors. “It’s up to an individual by themselves to know what they’re doing,” freshman Enyioma Onuoha said.
Still, many of them do not see themselves as likely targets of crime, as most students consider themselves poor robbery targets. University officials reminded students that crime happens everywhere. “One of the issues is how to distinguish misfortune versus bad planning,” said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs.
DUPD encourages anyone with information that might help them locate the suspect in Wednesday morning’s robbery to contact officers at 684-2444.
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