Armed Robberies Unlinked

Two armed robberies of Harvard graduate students that occurred on consecutive evenings last week were not related, police said this weekend.

“There is no reason to believe that these incidents are connected,” said Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) spokesman Steven G. Catalano. “The suspect descriptions are totally different.”

In the later incident—which occurred on Thursday night—two suspects, armed with a knife, robbed a Harvard graduate student of credit cards, $200 in cash, and a cellular phone at around 9:25 p.m. on Banks Street, near Mather House.

The victim, who was not injured in the robbery, reported to police that the first suspect was a black male, 18 to 20 years old and approximately 6 feet tall, wearing a “gray puffy jacket with a fur collar and hood,” according to a community advisory released by HUPD.

The victim described the second suspect as a “skinny” black male, 16 to 17 years old and between 5’8’’ and 5’10’’ tall, wearing a “dark sweatshirt.”

In the earlier incident—which took place on Wednesday night—a graduate student was robbed by two men, also armed with a knife, at approximately 7 p.m. while walking near Harvard Law School.

But the victim of Wednesday’s robbery, who also was not injured in the incident, reported to police that the two suspects were a “chubby” 5’7’’ tall Asian male and a 5’8’’ tall white male, both of whom appeared to be “very nervous.”

Residents of the area said that they generally felt safe around Banks Street, where Thursday’s incident took place. They said they were surprised that the crime took place where it did.

“I walk up and down this street with my dog day and night, and I certainly have never felt unsafe here,” said Michael O’Connell, a local resident who lives near Banks Street. “That’s really surprising to me; there’s still a lot of foot traffic from students at that time. It’s a pretty audacious move to pull that off.”

Residents of Mather House—which abuts Banks Street—also said they feel the area is safe.

“I feel pretty safe,” said Dan J. Fuchs ‘07. “There’s usually quite a few people here.”

But Marie E. Burks ‘06 said that while she generally feels safe, “I am aware of the risks, so I usually don’t walk down Athens Street or Banks Street by myself at night.”

Because neither incident occurred on Harvard University property, they are both being investigated by the Cambridge Police Department.

But, according to the advisory, “both the Cambridge Police Department and the Harvard University Police Department are working aggressively to find the persons responsible for this incident and will continue to deploy both uniformed and plain clothes officers to patrol areas that students frequently use.”

—Staff writer Reed B. Rayman can be reached at rrayman@fas.harvard.edu.