On Thursday, two separate instances of crime were reported on Pratt Street in Allston, one of which resulted in an alert being sent to the Boston University community.
One student was the victim of an attempted cell phone robbery, according to the emergency alert emailed to students at about 2 p.m. on Friday.
The alert stated that a group of men approached the student and demanded that he give them his cell phone. The student could not provide a description of the men and the alert states that no weapon was used.
In a separate incident at about 10 p.m. the same night, a group of people wearing ski masks attacked three Allston residents in their own backyard, said David Estrata, a spokesman for the Boston Police Department. Two victims were struck in the head, giving one a laceration, and a third victim was punched in the face, Estrata said.
The report did not mention anything being stolen in the second incident, Estrata said.
The victims were transported to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries, he said, and the case remains under investigation.
“It again appears to be an isolated incident and we always recommend that students stay in groups walking at night,” Estrata said.
However, “this happened in a backyard,” he added.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said he was not aware of the assault on Pratt Street. However, he said events like these were why BUPD increased its presence in Allston in recent weeks.
Estrata said that he couldn’t say whether the two incidents were related because BPD had not yet received a report about the cell phone robbery.
“Although information may be shared they may have not connected with us yet,” Estrata said.
Although the exact time of the cell phone robbery was not listed in the email sent out to students, Riley cautioned that students should not be out late in areas where crime has occurred.
“If you’re not out at that hour when the incidents are taking place, you’re not going to be victim,” Riley said.
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