Ryan ChartrandSix Cal Poly students were victims of a strong-arm robbery Sunday as they walked near campus in the early hours of the morning, police said. The San Luis Obispo Police Department is investigating the incident that left two of the students with minor injuries and one with a stolen digital camera after they were reportedly approached and attacked by two strangers.
Cal Poly Public Safety received a report from one of the on-campus dormitories shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday that a group of six students had been walking together on Casa Street near Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center at about 1 a.m. when they were approached by a man and a woman.
The male attacker reportedly began pushing one of the male students, knocked him to the ground and demanded money. Meanwhile, the female assailant allegedly attacked one of the female students by grabbing her hair and pulling her to the ground, before snatching a digital camera from the victim’s purse and fleeing the scene on foot with her male accomplice.
The female freshman student who had her camera allegedly stolen said the attackers were total strangers who approached them without warning out of the dark.
“All I saw was this guy come from nowhere, and he started being violent and pushing one of the guys we were with,” one of the other female students in the group said. “Then we saw this crazy girl come out of nowhere, and she started attacking too.”
The group of students fled and ran across the street. The male and female who were attacked both sustained minor abrasions to the forehead and face from the attacks, neither requiring emergency care, according to the police report. The freshman who had her camera stolen said that it was worth about $300.
“I will definitely be more cautious about going out and walking after dark,” she said. She warned that the incident should be a caution to other students out late to “never let your guard down.”
The second student agreed. “Now [the danger] feels very real. I feel like when I go out late I have to be a lot more careful. I have to be aware of where I am and who I’m with, and pay attention to where the nearest blue emergency lights are.”
The three female students in the group are all freshmen living in Trinity Hall on campus. The three males in the group are students living at Mustang Village apartments on Foothill Boulevard.
“I couldn’t begin to guess what these two (suspects) were thinking,” said Sgt. Rick Crocker of the San Luis Obispo Police Department. “Without a weapon, why would a man and a woman approach a group of six . I wouldn’t have any idea, but at that time of the morning, drugs and alcohol could have been a factor in their decision-making.”
Police currently have no leads to go on and there is no apparent link between the students and the suspects, police said. He noted that there was a nine-hour gap between the time of the incident and the time it was reported to police, and that the two attackers had a lot of time to get away from the area.
The male and female assailants are both described as in their 20s, about 5-foot-9 with stocky builds, and both were reportedly dressed in dark, hooded sweatshirts at the time.