University of St. Thomas officials are warning students to be careful after a student was cut by a suspect wielding a knife during a robbery attempt on campus last weekend.
The university's public safety department Saturday issued an alert about the incident and reminded students to pay attention to their surroundings, stay in populated and well-lit areas and call the public safety department for escorts.
The alert came after St. Paul police arrived at the corner of Cleveland and Summit avenues around 1 a.m. Saturday and found campus public safety officers administering first aid to an 18-year-old university student. When police stopped to assist, the victim told them that he was assaulted after two men had approached him and asked for his wallet.
The student was punched in the face and cut on the arm with a knife after he argued with the men, who also tried to take his cellphone, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a spokesman for the St. Paul police. The men took nothing from the student before running off, Paulos said.
The student was taken to a hospital to be treated, according to the report.
"It is really unusual that someone was hurt," said Jim Winterer, spokesman for the university.
Winterer said the university is active in informing students about potential public safety threats. The day before the 18-year-old student was assaulted, university authorities alerted students to another robbery attempt of a student near Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue, about a mile and a half from campus.
According to police, a St. Thomas student was trying to hail a cab outside a Jimmy John's sandwich shop about 2:15 a.m. Friday when he was approached by four men who began talking to him. The student believed he was being robbed, so he gave the men his phone and wallet. The suspects left after the student's friends and Jimmy John's staff walked outside.
