A pair of assailants attacked and robbed senior Sarah Katz while she walked to her off-campus apartment last Wednesday around 9:00 p.m.
The incident marks the third time this month that a Washington University student has been assaulted and robbed near apartments north of campus.
“I live past all of the offcampus housing, and I often do not have people to walk with,” said Katz. “I am very used to walking back by myself.”
Katz described her attackers as a young black couple who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties.
The woman had a ponytail with long sleek hair down her back. Katz said that the assault came as a surprise.
“They looked totally normal. I thought they were a young college couple out for a walk,” she said.
She explained that she was attacked as she moved to pass the pair from behind. The male blocked her path and sprayed her with pepper spray, knocking her to the ground.
“I was clutching my purse strongly and screaming and praying someone would rescue me. They started to kick me on my side and on my butt,” said Katz. “I was remembering stories about people dying for not giving up their purses. The guy growled to hand over my purse.”
Katz gave the attackers her purse, and they ran to a nearby car and drove away. She remained on the ground, incapacitated by the pepper spray.
“My face felt like it was on fire,” said Katz.
Eventually, several residents of nearby apartments spotted Katz and offered their aid.
Police arrived shortly but could not locate the attackers.
“The police gave me some wipes to counteract the effects of the [pepper spray]. I was in agony,” said Katz.
University City Police are in charge of investigating Katz’s case, and did not return several requests for information throughout the weekend.
Katz said that she hopes that her attackers are swiftly brought to justice. “I was told that the same people had committed the same crime before, and it made me angry,” said Katz. “If someone could give a tip, they could be put in jail.I want them in jail because I don’t think that most of these cases are ever resolved.”
Progress remains slow on Katz’s case, however. “No substantial progress has been made, but they are doing the best they can with limited evidence,” said Katz.
Katz has not informed the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) of this incident.
In addition to this robbery, there have been two others in the area this month, according to WUPD’s Web site.
The first one occurred at the corner of Skinker Blvd. and Washington Ave. on Oct. 14 when the wallets of four people were stolen.
The second occurred on Oct. 21 on the corner of Skinker Blvd. and Kingsbury Ave. Two suspects demanded the wallets and book bags of two individuals.
In both cases, the suspects used handguns as a threat. No one was injured in either incident.
WUPD Chief Don Strom explained that although WUPD does patrol some of the areas around campus, their main responsibilities lie on the University campus.
The surrounding areas are the jurisdiction of other police departments.
“We work with other police officers [from around the city], but they have the primary control over their areas,” said Strom. “We met with the St. Louis and University City police this past week to talk about crime issues. When we become aware of a crime pattern, we will ask [other police departments] if it is okay if WUPD patrols through those areas. However, that takes people away from Hilltop,” said Strom.
Strom said that on Friday and Saturday nights, a University City police officer and a WUPD police officer ride bicycles together near Greenway because it has a high student concentration.
However, he said that they are unable to patrol every area where University students live. “Students live all over St. Louis, and we have limited resources,” said Strom.
The WUPD finds out about incidents that happen off campus that happen near University-owned property through daily printouts.
They also have meetings with the other police departments. Despite all of these efforts, they still do not know about everything that occurs.
“When we do find out [that a student has been assaulted], we try to make sure that the students are provided with counselling services. We make them aware [of the services], but it is their choice,” said Strom.
WUPD also distributes security surveys to students who live on and off campus and provides e-mail notifications to area residents.
“As it gets darker earlier, it is a good time for people to refresh their memories of not to walk alone late at night, to stay on a well-lit path, to use the blue light system, and to most importantly, trust their instincts,” said Strom.