The Badger Herald: News: Two more students robbed this weekend

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Two more students robbed this weekend

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Monday, April 24, 2006 12:00 a.m.

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City police are continuing a search for four suspects in two robberies of two different University of Wisconsin students early Saturday morning.

According to a Madison police press release, a 19-year-old male was allegedly physically attacked and robbed at the Frances Street and Langdon Street intersection around 1:37 a.m.

A second 19-year-old male was allegedly physically assaulted and robbed on the 300 block of West Dayton Street around 3:25 a.m.

The victim of the first incident called police after his robbery and said he was walking home when one of the suspects approached him.

"He was then pushed by the one suspect and knocked to the ground," the release states. "The other suspects joined in hitting and punching the victim about the head and face."

After the alleged initial attack, the release reports the victim gave the money he had to the suspects, who then fled on foot away from the scene.

The victim suffered bruises to the face and a black eye after the alleged robbery and called Madison police to report the incident from his parents’ home, located outside the city.

The release describes the suspects in the Frances Street robbery as four black males ranging in age from 19 to 20 years old, all wearing dark clothing and two wearing baseball caps at the time of the attack.

Regarding the second robbery, the victim flagged a Madison police officer down after three males allegedly robbed him.

According to the respective police releases, both alleged victims said they were approached by one of the suspects, who asked him a question.

"He was then punched about the face and head," the release states. "The [suspects] then took the victim's wallet and other personal property … fled and were not located."

The release states the suspects are all black males in their 20s, and at the time of the attack, were dressed in black.

The second victim suffered injuries, but they appeared to be minor.

The early-morning altercations are the fourth and fifth reports of UW student robberies in recent weeks, although university police have dealt with the previous incidents.

As the alder of a highly student-populated district, Ald. Austin King, District 8, called the Frances Street incident "unfortunate" and mentioned the heightened vulnerability students can face walking home during weekend bar time.

"All of Langdon Street is pretty safe, in my opinion," King said. "It depends on the hours. That's when it gets less safe."

And with warmer spring temperatures, King added more people are walking during later hours of the night.

"In the summer, it's the best time to be out in Madison because everybody's out," he noted.

Despite the recent slew of student robberies, King said the city and university police departments are doing the best they can to keep both students and city residents safe.

"Our police department is doing a great job of keeping these areas safe," King said, "but it's tough when you have a lot of potential for robberies during certain hours."

4 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | April 24, 2006 11:29 AM | Reply
IP hash: f60e96ca

it makes you kind of sad to see the racial issues here.

Anonymous | April 24, 2006 12:59 PM | Reply
IP hash: 97454428

I’m sorry, whats the “racial issue” here? Would this be less sad if the attackers were white or hispanic?

Anonymous | April 24, 2006 5:50 PM | Reply
IP hash: 8a684c25

lets not kid ourselves here, most of these street robberies have been comitted by young black males. Am I wrong for saying I’m going to the other side of the street if I see some non-student looking black kids around the UW campus in the early morning hours? If you say im ‘racist’ well, at least im not ‘robbed’.