A new University of Minnesota student and her visiting boyfriend were robbed along Washington Avenue near campus after watching the fireworks over the Mississippi River, authorities said Monday.
The robbery and assault occurred about 11 p.m. Saturday on Washington Avenue SE. near Ontario Street, according to a campuswide crime alert issued by university officials. No arrests have been made.
The alert and a Minneapolis police report said the 25-year-old female student and a 28-year-old man were walking together, within steps of her home, when they were approached by two men and one woman. One of the suspects burned the boyfriend on the arm with a cigarette, and a second suspect punched him in the face.
At the same time, a third suspect punched the female student and demanded valuables from both of them. The suspects took the victims' backpack and cellphone before running southbound on Ontario.
Neither victim was seriously injured in the assault, the alert continued.
The boyfriend, 28-year-old Kevin Close, of Ogden, Utah, said he and his girlfriend had just stepped off the light rail after watching the fireworks downtown, when the couple passed the suspects in the intersection. One of the suspects jabbed him in the arm with a lit cigarette, Close said.
"I asked for an apology," Close said. "And he responded, 'What are you going to do about it?' "
That's when the two were hit and robbed, Close said.
