A series of four armed robberies took place near campus over the weekend, according to an October 16 email sent by Michele Rasmussen, dean of students in the University, and Eric Heath, associate vice president for safety and security. No physical injuries were reported.
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is currently investigating these incidents, which reports indicate were executed by the same group of perpetrators, per the email. The University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) has also added more patrols in the area.
Three of the four armed robberies occurred on October 14 within a span of just over two hours, according to the University’s crime log. The first one happened at 7:45 p.m. on 5401 South University Avenue, the second at 9:25 p.m. on 5631 South Kenwood Avenue, and the third at 9:55 p.m. on 1121 East 54th Place. The fourth reported incident occurred on October 15 at 8:03 p.m. on 5436 South University Avenue. In total, eight individuals were robbed between the four incidents, which all took place during the University’s Family Weekend.
In the email, the University emphasized the importance of students staying informed and vigilant and shared information and resources that could be used to receive timely updates about off-campus safety. “Especially for students and families who are new to UChicago, this is a good time to review safety measures and the ways in which we alert people to serious crimes that occur off-campus,” the email read.
The University has shared similar advice in emails after previous instances of widespread criminal activity on and around campus.
In addition to security alerts that all students automatically receive for on-campus crimes, the email encouraged everyone to opt in to the Community Crime Notice and UCPD Daily Crime Bulletin email alerts to be notified of off-campus incidents. The email noted that all four of the armed robberies that occurred over the weekend were included in either the crime notice or crime bulletin emails sent Saturday and today.
Crime notices are sent on a timely basis to help people guide their behavior following homicides, shootings, and patterns of robberies that occur off-campus. A crime bulletin email is sent each weekday morning, summarizing serious crimes reported to UCPD. Relative to the crime notices, the crime bulletins include a more extensive range of crimes, including homicides, criminal sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated batteries, and residential burglaries classified as home invasions.
Many students also use Citizen, an app that provides real-time, location-based safety alerts of incidents happening nearby. The app also allows users to report incidents right when they occur to help notify and protect others.
For general information on campus safety and guidelines for Security Alerts, the University encourages students to visit the Department of Safety and Security website.
