Investigators are searching for connections between an attempted armed robbery on campus Monday night and a second armed robbery reported around the same time near Duke's campus.
The University issued a DukeAlert Monday night after an attempted armed robbery was reported around 10:56 p.m. in the Wannamaker fire lane.
The Durham Police Department stated that an armed robbery was also reported "around 11 p.m." on Burch Avenue, in the area near the Emily Krzyzewski Center. The robbery was reported on Burch's 800 block, just more than a mile from the fire lane.
John Dailey, chief of Duke University Police Department, wrote in an email to The Chronicle that an investigator is working closely with Durham investigators for connections between the two cases. The Durham Police Department is handling the Burch Avenue incident, he explained.
Kammie Michael, spokesperson of Durham Police Department, wrote in an email to The Chronicle that a 22-year-old man parked his vehicle on Burch Avenue and was quickly approached by two men demanding money at gunpoint. The men pushed the victim to the ground and stole his phone, keys and 2017 Mazda CX-5.
The suspects were described as black males in their early 20s, one of whom was wearing an orange or pink hoodie, Michael wrote in an email to The Chronicle. No charges have been filed, Michael added.
In the Wannamaker fire lane robbery near Towerview Road, there were also two suspects. One was described as a "dark skin male, wearing [a] grey hoodie" and armed with a handgun in a DukeAlert issued at 11:38 p.m. Monday. The other was not described in the alert, which also did not specify if the victim was a student or not. Dailey wrote to The Chronicle Tuesday that the pair was driving a "dark color, four door sedan."
A second DukeAlert in a 24-hour period was issued Tuesday night after two female students reported being touched inappropriately near Campus Drive.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.