Five Female Students Robbed
Boston police say separate incidents do not appear related
Five female Boston University students have been robbed of cash, credit cards, phones, and laptops in recent weeks while walking alone late at night on or near the Charles River Campus. The most recent incident occurred yesterday morning outside 179 Bay State Road, according to a Boston University Police Department report. Four other robberies, all of which happened since early September, took place in the area of Allston’s Gardner, Ashford, and Pratt Streets (GAP), according to Boston Police Department reports. In every case, the suspects were unarmed, and no one was injured.
Based on descriptions of the suspects, Boston police believe the robberies are unrelated. Yesterday’s suspect was described as a heavy-set white or Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing a black hoodie, and with what looked like a shaved head. The man fled to an older model gray sedan waiting nearby, where another person was behind the wheel.
Another student, approached around 1 a.m. on Friday after leaving a friend’s house near the intersection of Chester and Gardner Streets, described the person who robbed her as a 5-foot-11-inch man in his mid-20s wearing a black hoodie and with brown facial hair. The thief approached the woman from behind, grabbed her left buttock, and pulled her purse away.
On October 3, a 6-foot-tall light-skinned black or Hispanic man robbed a female student at 72 Gardner Street. On October 2, a heavy-set white male wearing a dark jacket robbed a female student near 19 Chester Street. And on September 2, a white male in his late 20s, with blonde hair, robbed a female student near 21 Chester Street.
Scott Paré, the University’s deputy director of public safety and BUPD deputy chief, encourages students to walk with friends in well-lit, well-traveled areas when returning home late at night.
The robberies “aren’t happening up on Comm Ave,” Paré says. “They’re happening on these back streets where nobody else is around.”
Mattijs Van Maaren (CFA’18) says he generally feels safe walking home as long as there are other people around. “My routine won’t change” because of the recent spate of robberies, he says. “But I have taken some self-defense classes in the past, just to have those skills.”
“Some of my friends have actually been the victims of robberies, so I’m definitely more alert when I’m off-campus,” says Yushan Liu (COM’15). “I think people are fine as long as they walk with a group or someone else. I avoid walking home alone at night.”
BUPD provided the following safety tips to help prevent further incidents:
- Always be aware of your surroundings. Wear sneakers for extra mobility.
- Do not talk on a cell phone or listen to music while walking. Pay full attention to what is going on around you.
- Avoid walking alone late at night. Walk with friends or use BU’s Escort Security Service when on campus. Use public transportation or take a cab.
- If you think you’re being followed, switch directions or cross the street. Walk toward a group of people or an open store, restaurant, or lighted house.
- Keep a whistle within reach. If you feel threatened, use the whistle to signal you need assistance, or yell for help.
- Call your future destination before leaving to let them know that you’re on your way and that they can expect you at a certain time.
- Walk with confidence. Be assertive; do not let anyone violate your space. Trust your instincts.
- Take a self-defense course such as BU’s Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program.
- If you are assaulted or robbed, try to get the best description of the suspect that you can.
- Limit your alcohol consumption; stay alert.
Brandon Lewis (COM’16) contributed reporting to this story.
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