VCU Police report three robberies in under an hour
Ryan Murphy
News Editor
Students received text alerts Tuesday night after three armed robberies, one on and two near VCU’s Monroe Park campus.
The first text message, sent at 10:07 p.m., said that an armed robbery occurred in the area around 1015 Grove Ave. The text said to avoid the area, which is near the Singleton Performing Arts Center and the heart of the campus
The second set of texts, sent at 10:23 p.m., said a second armed robbery had “just occurred” on the 700 block of West Clay Street. A later email said the robbery happened at 10 p.m.
Both messages urged students to avoid the area and said that the VCU Police were investigating the first robbery and that the Richmond and VCU police were investigating the second crime.
The third robbery was not reported in a text, but an email later in the night confirmed a robbery on the 1300 block of West Clay Street. The robbery happened at 10:12 p.m.
VCU Police said in the email they believe the same suspect was involved in all three robberies. He is described as a black male in his 20s, wearing a grey hoodie with blue jeans and white sneakers. Police believe he was traveling in a white Chevy Impala as the passenger.
The back-to-back robberies come after a week of high-profile crimes on and near VCU’s campuses, including a string of six robbery-related crimes that occurred near the Monroe Park campus on Oct. 8 and a stabbing a block from MCV on Oct. 9.
The university’s administration held a town hall meeting on safety on Oct. 11 to reaffirm its commitment to safety and discuss how they plan to respond to the spike in crimes, including new collaboration initiatives between the VCU Police Department and the Richmond Police Department.
Two days after that meeting, a home invasion by five or six armed men occurred on the 100 block of South Laurel Street, also on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus.
This is a breaking news update. Stay with The CT for updates in print next Monday, Oct. 22 and online on Twitter.
Updated 11:58 p.m., Oct. 16, 2012
