UCLA police on Monday night were warning students of a pair of crimes – one an armed robbery, the other an attempted sexual assault – that happened within an hour of one another earlier in the day.
Shortly after midnight Monday, a student was walking northbound on Veteran Avenue from Gayley Avenue when a man put a silver-colored handgun on his back and demanded his property, threatening to shoot the student if he did not comply, according to campus police officials.
The student handed over his wallet and cellphone and the robber – described as a black man about 20 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 170 pounds with a light bear wearing a dark beanie and a dark "puffy" jacket with dark pants – ran from the scene.
He was last spotted fleeing westbound on Montana from Veteran Avenue.
About an hour later, a female student was attacked while walking eastbound on the walkway between UCLA parking structure #9 and the Engineer #4 building.
A man approached the victim from behind as he exited the parking structure. He proceeded to run after her, place her in a bear hug and tell her he intended to sexually assault her, according to campus police.
The man tried to wrestle the victim to the ground, but she was able to break free. The man – described as a white or Asian man, about 30 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 160 pounds with a thin build and short black hair – fled in an unknown direction.
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He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans at the time of the attack, police said.
Neither of the victims was injured.
In light of the attacks, the UCLA police are reminding students to walk with a trusted friend whenever possible, take advantage of the campus’ escort service by calling 310-794-WALK, and program the UCLA PD phone number – 310-825-1491 – into their cell phones.
If confronted with a robber, UCLA PD suggests students comply with the attacker’s request, obtain as detailed a description of the person as possible, and call 911 when they are safe.
