A male undergraduate student and a female graduate student were robbed at gunpoint early Thursday morning walking to their car parked near the intersection of Bobby Dodd Way and Fowler Street, according to a Tech police report. Campus was notified of the robbery via a Clery Alert email.
The victims were walking back from the library at 2:45 A.M. when a white conversion van pulled up next to them. Two men, described as black and 20 to 25 years old, jumped out of the van and pointed a handgun at the two students. The students handed over their belongings, including two MacBooks, two iPhones and a debit card, without a struggle. The two suspects then got back in their van and drove away. No one was hurt in the incident.
“We work continuously to improve campus safety and security of our students through enhanced technology, ongoing education and the active involvement of our police force. In addition, Georgia Tech continues to partner with the Atlanta Police Department to deter crime in the areas surrounding campus,” said Matt Nagel, Institute spokesman.
This is the sixth time students have been attacked on campus this year, although this incident was the first involving theft and the first this semester. The first happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 1 when a man grabbed a female student near the Wesley Foundation on East Campus. The second occurred later that evening when a man grabbed a female student near the Clough Undergradaute Learning Commons. The third happened on Oct. 4 near McMillan Street on West Campus when a man grabbed a female student around the waist. The fourth occurred on Nov. 10 when a female student was raped behind the Sigma Nu fraternity house. The fifth happened on Dec. 9 when a man surprised a female student in the back of her car, although the student used pepper spray to chase the attacker off.
The mugging on Thursday occurred as GTPD is promoting use of its Jacket Guardian system, which provides 911 dispatchers a profile of callers and allows students to set a timer when walking home, with the system automatically sending out a call for help if the student does not arrive at his or her destination. They have also debuted SkyCop, a mobile security camera system that has been placed in several places throughout campus over the past few months.
Additional reporting by Lauren Brett, Contributing Writer