On Sunday, Nov. 9 at 11:15 a.m. two University students were
held at gunpoint in the alley behind the Holy Cross parking
lot.

As the students were crossing Vandeventer Avenue, a black male
jumped out of the passenger door of a four-door Buick bearing
temporary Illinois plates demanding that the students surrender
their belongings. The subject is described as approximately
20-years-old, 6-feet tall with a short stubble beard. The driver of
the car was unable to be identified.

The female victim turned over her purse, which contained her
cell phone, keys and student ID. Her property has been valued at
$185 said Jack Titone, director of the Department of Public
Safety.

The suspect jumped into the vehicle, and sped off along north
Vandeventer Avenue, Titone said.

“It’s very unusual for an incident to occur like this in broad
daylight on a Sunday morning. [The robbers] must have been rather
desperate,” Titone said.

The St. Louis Police Department thinks that the suspects have
been involved in robberies throughout the St. Louis area the past
few months. The investigation is being conducted by SLPD as the
robbery occurred on city, not University, property.

While DPS has increased security in the area, it is believed
that the robbery was random and that the suspects came from one of
the other institutions located in the vicinity of the alley, Titone
said.

DPS encourages students to be cautious of their surroundings
during the night as well as daytime. In addition, students should
avoid walking through the allies and stay on West Pine Mall, if
possible.