A female Boston University student was reportedly the victim of an attempted armed robbery Tuesday night, according to a Boston University alert.
A message sent to students reported that two young black males with a handgun attacked the victim in an attempted robbery at about 8:40 p.m. at 808 Commonwealth Ave.
BUPD reported the victim was unharmed and no items were stolen from her. The suspects fled the scene on foot.
The suspects were described as wearing hooded sweatshirts.
Officers from the Boston Police Department assisted in the report of the robbery.
BPD could not provide additional details on what the suspects look like, said BPD spokesman David Estrada.
“We did respond to 808 Commonwealth Ave. for report of armed robbery,” Estrada said. “One female victim claims two black males approached her and possibly had a weapon, maybe a gun, but everything is preliminary, so we don’t have descriptions, and at this point, it’s a report of an armed robbery.”
This is the fourth armed robbery near BU in two weeks, where suspects involve two or three young black males wearing different colored hooded sweatshirts.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Sam Hodak said he is surprised by the frequency of robberies.
“Usually there’s one in a year, this is four in a semester — it’s ridiculous,” he said.
The first incident occurred on Sept. 23, when two BU students were robbed on Thorndike Street in Brookline at 2:55 a.m. Two suspects displayed handguns and stole the students’ personal belongings.
Three BU students were robbed by three suspects displaying a black handgun at about 5 p.m. on Sept. 26 in the area of Egmont Street and St. Paul Street.
On Oct. 5, a recent BU graduate was robbed by three suspects, one of whom was carrying a handgun, at about 5:15 p.m. near St. Paul Street and Thatcher Street.
In all three crimes, the suspects were described as two or three young black males. Suspects were described as wearing hooded sweatshirts in the Oct. 5 and Sept. 26 incidents.
Hodak said he thinks the robberies are connected to one another.
“My guess is it’s the same people,” he said. “They’re doing it because they got away with it before.”
Mary Danielewski, a College of Fine Arts junior, said she took classes in 808 Commonwealth Ave. over the summer and is anxious about the string of robberies.
“It’s pretty terrifying,” she said. “I’m honestly most worried about my computer being taken because most of the things in your wallet, you can replace, except for cash. Losing my computer and all my art, because I’m a graphic design student, would be devastating.”
Danielewski said she is also nervous about living off campus in Allston due to the recent robberies.
“It’s pretty scary to walk alone at night. I try not to,” she said. “I definitely am more scared than I used to be.”
CAS sophomore Jimmy Briggs said that while the robberies are startling, being located in a city may be a risk factor regarding crime.
“The cops are doing all they can,” he said. “It’s still unsettling that they can’t catch them. If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It doesn’t matter if you have friends with you if they have a gun … though, it’s not that shocking that this sort of thing happens in Boston.”
Ashley Andrade, a College of Communication freshman, said she attended the BU Academy before enrolling in BU and never noticed such a string of crimes.
“I’ve been on campus for four years,” she said. “It’s never been like this before. It’s happening at 5 p.m. Usually when you get alerts like this, it’s off-campus robberies or at odd hours when you wouldn’t typically be out.”
View Armed Robberies near Boston University in a larger map
Make a Timeline at Preceden.com