Graduate student falls victim to armed robbery

By Zhifan Li     11/28/12 6:00pm

 

A female Rice graduate student was robbed by a man who displayed a handgun and demanded money at Bus Stop B on Nov. 20 shortly after 9 p.m. The suspect fled with the victim's cell phone and cash in a vehicle driven by another unknown suspect. The student was not harmed. 

According to the Rice University Police Department crime alert sent out at 10:22 p.m. that night, the suspect was described as a black male in his 20s. He is approximately 5 feet 8 inches in height, of thin build, clean-shaven with short hair and was wearing a red T-shirt. 

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As of Nov. 28, the suspect had not been found, RUPD Chief Johnny Whitehead said. 

The student was waiting for the bus to go back to her apartment when robbed. 

"She reported that [a] man approached her [and] said something to her," Whitehead said. "She did not really understand initially what he said. Then he said to her, 'Give me your money.' He pulled out a handgun. He took her cell phone, and she gave him a little bit [of] cash she had." 

After the robbery, instead of using the blue-light system, she got on the bus, went to her friend's place and called RUPD, Whitehead said. 

Baker College freshman Wei Zeng said he felt frightened because he was very close to the location of the robbery. 

"I was waiting at that bus stop just one hour before the robbery with my friends. It was very scary, and I will never go out of Rice at night again," Zeng said. 

Duncan College sophomore Kaching Ho said she thinks campus may not be that safe. 

"I try not to wander alone at campus at night, and [I] walk with other people," Ho said. 

Whitehead said RUPD has taken action to protect students. 

"We have increased patrol presence around parking lots, bus stops and isolated areas of campus," Whitehead said. "The campus will be patrolled by additional police officers and uniformed security specialists. We have requested the Houston Police Department and the Southampton Police Patrol's help with increasing patrols in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Our investigators are sharing information with HPD and other local police departments in an effort to identify suspects. We are exploring other strategies to improve security, including the use of technology, improved lighting, and bus routes and stop locations." 

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