News In Brief

By Seth Brown     1/10/12 6:00pm

Attempted robbery

Two men attempted to rob a university consultant early Tuesday morning between Entrance 5 and Wiess College. According to a crime alert sent out by the Rice University Police Department, the men jumped out from behind some bushes and reached for the consultant's backpack but fled the scene after the consultant hit one of the men with his laptop case.

Interim Police Captain Clemente Rodriguez said that while the attack occurred around 5:30 a.m., the victim did not report it until 8:30 a.m. Rodriguez said RUPD has no strong leads to the identities of the two victims and encouraged anyone else involved in a similar situation to report it immediately by using one of the blue light phones around campus or calling RUPD.

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"In this case, the victim didn't notify us as quickly as we'd like – he felt it was a situation he'd handled at the time," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the consultant did not see the men who attacked him well enough for RUPD to be able to create detailed sketches, but that RUPD's investigators would show images of possible individuals to the consultant to see if he could recognize one of them from those. According to Rodriguez, the consultant described the two as possibly homeless men in their late 20s. One was black and wore glasses and a hoodie, and the other was middle eastern and wore a backward baseball cap.

Rodriguez advised students walking after dark to avoid shortcuts through unlighted areas and be cautious around objects that could be used as hiding places.

"If you're walking after-hours, try to walk in well-lit areas," Rodriguez said. "Also try to walk in a group, and if need be, call RUPD for a security escort."

To request a security escort or contact RUPD, call 713-348-6000 or use one of the blue light phones around campus.

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