Students resist robbers, leave with minor injuries

By Zhifan Li     11/28/12 6:00pm

 

Two unarmed men attempted to rob two female Rice graduate students who were walking north of campus toward their vehicle parked at Kent Street and Dunstan Road on Nov. 16 around 10 p.m. The students resisted as the suspects tried to take a cellphone from one student and a purse from the other. The suspects ran away empty-handed. 

According to police Captain Clemente Rodriguez, Rice University Police Department searched the area but could not find the suspects. 

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As of Nov. 27, the suspects had not been found, according to Rodriguez. 

The suspects were described as black, between the ages of 18 and 22, between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches in height, and wearing dark shirts and dark basketball shorts. 

There did not appear to be bystanders when the victims were attacked, Rodriguez said. 

"They were yelling, but nobody came to [help]," Rodriguez said. "So there was nobody walking around in that area at that time. Nobody they observed." 

According to Rodriguez, the suspects stalked the women first. During the robbery, the students resisted, and one student suffered a cut to the finger while the other suffered an abrasion on the forearm, Rodriquez said. The suspects then allegedly ran away in different directions, according to Rodriquez. 

After the attempted robbery, the students tried to call 911 but could not get through. They ran back to campus and called RUPD, Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez said RUPD officers are patrolling around campus and are still looking for the suspects. RUPD also notified the Southampton Patrol and the Houston Police Department of the incident when it occurred. 

Sid Richardson College sophomore Lauren Schmidt said she felt the crime alert impacted her. 

"It was very scary. When it happened, we were all in the [resident associate's] room," Schmidt said. "It makes me never want to go out again." 

Rodriguez said students should cooperate in these situations. 

"Don't fight for your personal property because it ends worse," Rodriguez said. "It ends [with] somebody getting hurt. In this case, thankfully, they suffered from only minor injuries, but we recommend you just give the items away without resisting." 

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