After an attempted armed robbery led to the issuing of a public safety notice last week, at least one Ohio State student said she felt scared by the incident.
University Police issued a public safety notice Friday morning about the incident, which according to a police report, allegedly occurred on West 18th Avenue between McPherson and Smith laboratories at about 9:40 p.m.
A female OSU student was approached by three men, according to the notice, one of whom pointed a gun at her while another held his hand over her mouth and patted her down.
According to the police report, the suspects attempted to steal the student’s cell phone.
All three men were described as black men with braided hair, two of whom were about 5 feet 8 inches tall and the other who was about 5 feet 4 inches. All appeared to weigh somewhere between 150 and 180 pounds.
Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs declined to comment on behalf of one of the people listed on the University Police report and referred The Lantern to University Police for further comment.
University Police Chief Paul Denton said in an email Sunday there was no new information about the case.
Denton said Friday public safety alerts detailing campus crimes aren’t issued frequently. However, he reminded students, staff and faculty to be vigilant when walking at night.
“As the weather turns warmer, as it has in the last few weeks, criminals often take this time to prey upon individuals,” Denton said.
The notice was the third issued by University Police since the beginning of Spring Semester. All three crimes, two armed robberies and a rape, reportedly occurred on campus.
Grace Zahn, a second-year in strategic communication, said she spends a lot of time in the area so the notice scared her.
“When I got the safety notice, I was kind of surprised and kind of scared because I have class in McPherson so I was kind of freaking out because I could have just as easily had class at that time,” she said. “I feel like Ohio State does a good job of trying to keep campus safe. If you’re walking around at night, you should probably try to be with another person. If I was by myself walking around at night, I would be a little nervous.”
