In the early morning hours of Sunday Sept. 8, a Georgetown student was robbed at gunpoint near the corner of 30th and Dumbarton Streets as he was walking home.
The Georgetown Department of Public Safety issued a campus-wide e-mail this Monday informing students of the incident and advocating caution.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department’s police report, the victim was a 21-year-old male Georgetown student who was walking on the 3100 block of Dumbarton Street at 1:30 a.m.
The student noticed someone walking across the street and then realized that someone else was right behind him. At that point, both men approached the student and pulled out handguns, demanding his wallet.
The police report described one suspect as an African-American male, approximately 26 years of age, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. The second suspect is described as an African-American male, approximately 25 years old, slightly shorter at 5 feet 7 inches and weighing 160 pounds. Both suspects were wearing dark clothes and baseball caps, according to the report.
The student complied with the suspects’ requests and gave them his wallet, which contained three dollars and three credit cards. The suspects proceeded to ask the student for his automated teller machine PIN number, which he gave them as well.
At that point the two suspects fled westbound on Dumbarton Street, according to the official police report. They withdrew $300 from the student’s account at an ATM on Wisconsin Avenue and Calvert Street.
Since they used an ATM, the suspects should be on videotape. This increases the chance that the MPD will be able to make an arrest, said Lieutenant Brian Bray of the second district, which includes Georgetown and Burleith.
“We had a similar case two weeks ago [involving the suspect using an ATM] and we caught the guy, so we remain hopeful for this case,” Bray said.
Approximately 20 percent of Georgetown students live off-campus, where DPS does not patrol.
According to Kelly Marino (CAS ‘04) who lives near LXR, the further away she is from campus, the less safe she feels. Marino said that the presence of DPS greatly enhances her feeling of security.
“My friends and I looked for a house relatively close to campus so that we would not have to walk home late at night from the library or other friend’s houses,” Marino said.
Steve Smith (MSB ‘03), who lives in Burleith, said that the threat of off-campus crime is very real.
“Although I have never personally felt unsafe it is scary to think about things like that happening close to campus,” he said.
Director of DPS William Tucker said that students should try not to be out late at night by themselves or carry large amounts of money.
“Students should be watchful and cautious in any part of the city and should try to walk in a group whenever possible,” he said.
