Student reports armed robbery on West Campus early Monday morning

A student reported an armed robbery that occurred near the intersection of Wannamaker Dr. and Chapel Dr. at approximately 1 a.m. Monday.

Two suspects reportedly approached the student with chrome handguns, took several items and left the scene in a red truck or SUV. No injuries were reported.

A DukeAlert was sent to students, faculty and staff at approximately 2:10 a.m. notifying them of the incident.

READ: Victim of armed robbery tells his side of Monday incident

Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh wrote in an email early Monday afternoon that there was nothing new to report and that "the Duke police are aggressively conducting an investigation and will continue to work closely with the victim."

Because of the winter weather that hit campus this weekend, the bus schedule was limited Sunday and early Monday—with only one C1 East-West bus running—and DukeVans' service was also limited. Cavanaugh noted that the scarce transportation options were due to road conditions.

Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs, noted that students can call Duke University Police Department if they are unable to find transportation when weather affects the bus schedule.

"I would always advise a student particularly during hazardous weather if they get to a place on campus where they feel they need transportation and it’s not available I would advise them to call Duke Police and see if they might be able to coordinate anything with the police department," Wasiolek said. "If I for instance were to have found myself stranded without transportation, I couldn’t call a friend, I didn’t feel comfortable walking, I would call Duke Police."

The second on-campus armed robbery of 2015 occurred in July when a victim unaffiliated with Duke reported that two men with a handgun demanded money near the 301 Swift Ave. apartments.

Less than a month after the July robbery, a female student was sexually assaulted in a taxi on West Campus after leaving Shooters II. A man was arrested and charged with second-degree sexual assault following the incident. In early September, Duke University Police Department doubled security on Central Campus after suspects with a handgun robbed a female student, compounding students’ housing concerns.

In addition to the on-campus robberies, dormitory burglaries spiked during move-in and two Central Campus residents reported spotting an unknown male in their apartment and two missing laptops in October.

Questions were raised in late September about the University’s handling of an attack on a hospital employee after “inconsistent information” was passed on after the incident. The attack added to controversy surrounding Duke’s health system following the settlement of the lawsuit involving cancer patients linked to Anil Potti and the introduction of a lawsuit filed by a professor who alleges that Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill maintained a no-hire agreement that violated antitrust laws.