N.C. State Students On Alert For Robbery Suspect

on alert

for a man who has been robbing people on campus.

Campus police described the suspect as a black male in his late 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 to 200 pounds.

Campus police said a man approached a woman at the Sullivan Parking lot around 7:30 p.m. Monday and demanded her purse. Police say the woman ran away and was not harmed. Campus police say the woman's description of the man is similiar to the description of a man who may be responsible for two robberies that occurred on campus last Friday.

Campus police say four students were strong-armed by the suspect in one incident near Carmichael Auditorium. Police say the suspect implied he had a weapon, but he did not show it. A short time later, police said the suspect robbed another student on Dan Allen Drive. This time, police say the suspect showed a gun and struck the student on the side of the head with it, getting away with a wallet and a watch.

Police say the suspect may have a silver semiautomatic gun.

The recent incidents have caused some students to rethink their daily routines.

"I think one of them (the robberies) happened at 7:30 at night and it is not even dark then, so it's kind of scary to think that could happen," student Rebecca McNealy said.

Police say students are most vulnerable where it gets dark, but they say there are ways for students to protect themselves.

"You never want to walk around at 3 in the morning, and if you have to, take advantage of some of the resources that the university provides for you such as our student escort service. It's free of charge," said Sgt. John Barnwell, of the N.C. State Police Deparment.

N.C. State police have also beefed up patrols, contracting with an outside security firm to double the uniformed presence on campus.

According to a recent federal crime report from 2000, N.C. State only had one reported robbery. The only main local campus with more robberies was N.C. Central University, which had four. UNC-Chapel Hill reported one robbery. Fayetteville State did not report any.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact campus police at

(919) 515-2498

.