Update on Univ. of Minnesota robberies

Blogger props to Michael and Lunch for pointing ol' Rambix to some links on the U of M robberies. Here's one: "ROBBERIES AT GUNPOINT".

Since the beginning of the academic year there have been a series of street
robberies occurring in the neighborhoods near campus, with several in the Marcy Holmes area. This past weekend, one armed robbery of a student occurred on the East Bank campus. The suspects have been described as 1-4 black males, late teens to early twenties. They have confronted one or two victims at a time, sometimes engaging in brief conversations. In a number of cases a handgun has been produced. There have been no injuries, but the presence of the weapon is of great concern.

Indeed a handgun is a concern. It's a very big concern. This isn't just your random crackhead, like the oversized Chicago punk the police recently took down. This appears to be deliberate groups of males; very dangerous.

The University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) and the Minneapolis Police are working together daily on this pattern. In the meantime, a few tips for self protection include:

* Be aware of your surroundings, especially in the off-campus areas.
When possible, stay in well-lit areas where people are gathered.

* These events have taken place mostly from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM. If you must travel by foot through the neighborhoods during those hours it would be preferable to travel with a group.

* When walking on campus and in the blocks adjoining campus, you can call 624-WALK for an escort. Student Monitors carry radios linking them directly to UMPD police dispatch.

* If you are confronted by one or more persons armed with a firearm, cooperate and surrender belongings upon demand.

They accidentally forgot to include information about the handy gun permits you can get for this very reason. It must have slipped their minds.

Ok, that's a little shot at the authorities for recommending passive victimhood, but this is serious business. Folks, if you have kids at the school, have them take a personal self-defense course which can increase their awareness and confidence. Take advantage of the escorts. It's also very important to be aware and alert, and if you're intoxicated you don't have that and are setting yourself up for trouble.

Here's the Minneapolis Police link: "Attention U of M students and area residents November 15, 2005".

Now isn't this interesting? They completely left out the suspect information, which the U of M police included:

Recently, there have been some personal robberies reported at the U of M and in the neighborhoods around the U. The last reported incident was on November 11 shortly after 10:00 p.m., near Shelvin Hall.

Unfortunately, the suspect information is limited. [ed. - it's only limited by your censorship!] Victims say they were confronted by groups of two to four males and had money stolen.

Notice in the U of M Police alert they have the suspect information: "The suspects have been described as 1-4 black males, late teens to early twenties". Then, in the Minneapolis Police dispatch, they say they don't have it. What's going on here?

Enough with the PC already, this is a public safety issue.