3 University of Chicago students robbed at gunpoint near campus in Hyde Park

CHICAGO — Three students from the University of Chicago were robbed at gunpoint just minutes apart in the area of the school’s Hyde Park campus, according to university police.

The first incident happened around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday as two students were walking on opposite sides of the street in the 5600 block of South University Avenue. Police said four armed suspects approached the victims, took their belongings and fled in a four-door black Infiniti.

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Just minutes later, another student was walking off-campus in the 1300 block of East 56th Street when two suspects allegedly approached them with handguns and took their belongings. University police described the vehicle the suspects took off in as a black four-door vehicle, which was last seen going southbound on South Dorchester Avenue.

The first incident is under investigation by the University of Chicago Police Department while the second is under investigation by the Chicago Police Department.

According to a security alert sent out by campus officials, no injuries were reported in either incident, however, the incident has left many shaken.

“I’ve always felt safe, personally. It’s upsetting as students we get these alerts all of the time. They’re very frequent, they vary in the severity of them. It’s just troubling that it becomes so desensitizing,” Maddi, a senior at the university, said.

Maddi told WGN News she was one of two students robbed at gunpoint in the incident on South University Avenue. She was walking back from class, taking the same route she typically walks, when she was approached by one of the suspects.

“You never think it’s going to be you. I was walking on South University, which is a major artery of this school, it’s well-populated, it was broad daylight,” Maddi said.

The incident was caught on a surveillance camera from a nearby building. Maddi told WGN she did not see the car pull up, but saw a man in a ski mask approach her as she was walking on the sidewalk.

She tried to keep walking, but said a confrontation unfolded and he demanded her phone.

“He flashes the gun towards me and I kind of just go blank, I throw the phone behind my hands, we get into this tussle, and he eventually gets the phone from me,” Maddi said. “I was grabbing maybe for my phone, maybe the gun, it’s really a blackout moment for me, and I realize that I was able to grab the magazine out of the gun.”

Maddi was able to toss the magazine into a bush. She said she froze for a moment when she registered what happened and immediately ran away.

“I couldn’t necessarily really register the threat ahead of me, so definitely wouldn’t advocate for fighting back. Losing a life over a phone is definitely not worth it,” Maddi said.

While she admits she would likely handle the situation differently if she had planned for something like this, she said she is glad the police department has a piece of evidence, which hopefully serves as a lead.

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“You never think it will be you and when I was confronted with that moment I was in utter disbelief,” Maddi said.

Other students who spoke with WGN News said they’re concerned about recent incidents, including this one.

“This is a place that gets a lot of foot traffic and for something like that to happen in broad daylight is honestly very scary,” Michelangelo Pagan said. “For it to happen one block away from the quad is really disturbing.”

Pagan said he would like to see campus authorities implement additional measures to keep students safe on campus.

“The bottom line is, I think the student body generally does not feel safe on campus,” Pagan said. “I think there are measures that have been effective in the past, there have been ride programs with Lyft that have been established, that have been kind of rolled back recently, which has caused a big uprising throughout the student population and I think that’s something we should continue to press forward in.”

On Thursday, the university issued an update on steps it is taking in light of recent robberies that have taken place on and near campus. It said UCPD will have additional officers in strategic areas on and near campus with a goal of reducing robbery incidents.

The alert also said additional units are being requested from CPD, additional safety ambassador vehicles will patrol from noon to midnight between 55th and 60th streets, an additional safety ambassador vehicle will be reassigned closer to campus, and the number of safety ambassador vehicle patrols will be increased in main thoroughfares near campus.

University police said if you are a victim you should not resist unless necessary.

UCPD said it is working with the Chicago Police Department Intelligence Center to develop investigative leads. No arrests have been announced.

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