A 22-year-old University of Minnesota student was robbed at gunpoint Monday while she walked home in the Minneapolis' Como neighborhood.
A string of assaults and robberies last fall set the campus on edge and prompted university officials to beef up security on campus, adding brighter lights, more campus police and new security cameras. Most of the crime, however, targeted students walking off campus late at night.
The latest robbery occurred about 9 p.m. Monday near the intersection of 17th Avenue SE and Como Avenue SE. The student told police that two men called to her from across the street to ask for directions. When she stopped to respond, she told police, the men crossed the street and one of them pointed a black semiautomatic handgun at her while the other grabbed her backpack and wallet and demanded she empty her pockets.
The student wasn't hurt in the robbery.
Minneapolis Police are investigating the off-campus robbery. Anyone with information should call the police tip line at 612-692-8477.
Mary Lynn Smith
