If you check your Knight’s e-mail often, you probably noticed this Crime Alert in your inbox. What you don’t know is that I was one of the people who was robbed.
I took the Knight Lynx back to campus with eight other people from Knight Library on Saturday, March 27th, at approximately 1:30 in the morning. When we got off the bus, we walked back to my friend’s room in Libra. While we were there, I took off my heels and switched them for a pair of comfortable sandals, and one of my guy friends, Andrew, put them in his backpack. My roommate, Andrew, his girlfriend, and I decided we would all go back to my room to drink and hang out. So we had put a bottle of alcohol and some juice into the backpack as well.
We left Libra and started walking toward my room in Nike. When we came out onto Gemini by the water tower, we decided to walk down Libra Dr. instead of walking all the way around to the gym to get to Nike. As we were walking down the sidewalk on Libra, a car drove up behind us and turned into the first Nike parking lot on the right. The car circled around so that it was facing us and then turned off its lights. We all found this to be pretty sketchy, but little did we know what would soon take place.
As we walked from the first parking lot entrance into the second parking lot, two guys got out of the car and ran towards us. All I remember thinking was “Is this a joke? Are they just messing with us?” That’s when I saw that they were both holding knives with six-inch blades, and my thoughts switched to “Are they going to stab us? What if we get stabbed?”
The two guys cornered Andrew, who was wearing the backpack, started yelling at him to give it to them, and then they proceeded to take it off of him themselves. Then, as quickly as it happened, they ran back to the car and were taking off down Libra toward the Police Station (ironically). I immediately dialed 911, and within minutes the police arrived.
My three friends and I were pretty shaken up, especially Andrew who had been just inches away from the robbers and their knives. We also found out from the police that these same guys had just robbed other people in Lake Claire.
We all filled out witness statements and talked to the police for almost an hour. Finally, at around 3:30 in the morning, we were finished and got to return to our rooms.
My friends and I were extremely lucky that we didn’t get hurt and that all that was stolen was a backpack with a bottle of alcohol and my heels (which were my favorite pair!!). I wish I could have seen the look on their faces when they opened it up and found nothing of great value!
The reason I want you all to hear my story is because I want everyone to learn from it. We all hear numerous times about not walking alone and to be cautious of our surroundings. But how many of us are actively remembering this? Even when I was with three other friends and my instincts were telling me that this wasn’t right (and I was literally, but jokingly, saying out loud “We’re going to get raped, we’re going to get raped”), I did not for one second expect anything to actually happen. That’s where I learned my lesson.
Please, next time you are walking around at night, no matter how many friends you are with, be aware of your surroundings! Be on alert and don’t think for a second that it couldn’t happen to you, because it can. If you see a suspicious looking car (like one with their lights turned off) or a suspicious looking person who is walking towards you, don’t hesitate. If they are on foot and are on the same side of the road as you, switch to the other side of the road, even if you have to go out of your way. Have your hands near your cell phone in case you need to call 911. If you see a suspicious looking car, keep your eyes on it, and be aware of what is going on. One friend of mine even suggested that you could call 911 and let them know that you are walking near a suspicious looking car and you feel unsafe, and ask them to stay on the line with you. If anyone does come out of the car, yell at them that that you are on the phone with the police.
It’s hard to think quickly when a situation like this is actually happening; for example, I was fumbling around in my purse for my phone when in actuality my phone was in my other hand the whole time. But if you prepare yourself, take this stuff seriously, and always keep your safety in mind while walking anywhere at night, you can possibly save yourself from being approached.
If you are ever robbed, give the robbers what they want. Purses, driver’s licenses, keys, phones, even high heels and bottles of alcohol, can all be replaced – your life can’t. Don’t try to be the hero and fight them or give them lip, especially if they have a weapon. If you do ever get robbed, try to remember as many details as possible. Look at their faces and try to remember clothes, facial features, or any noticeable scars or tattoos. Look at what type of car they are driving, from color, dealer, old or new, and if you can, take their license plate number down. You may not be able to think this quickly in a situation, but it could only benefit you by taking these precautions seriously and keeping them in mind.
I am (mentally) alright, for the most part, about what happened. I still can’t really believe that that actually happened to me, and I am a little scared when walking by myself around campus at night now. However, I have definitely learned from the situation and will be prepared if anything like this ever happens again. Hopefully the police can catch whoever these robbers are, because they don’t deserve to be running the streets freely. (Seriously, what smart robber would ever try to take money from a college kid? We’re lucky if we can even scrounge up enough money to go to Knight Library, let alone have tons of cash on us afterwards!)
I hope you all appreciate my story, and I hope that you all can learn from it and keep yourselves safe!