Botched armed robbery has Western Wash. Univ. students on alert

Western Washington University students are watching their backs following Monday's botched robbery attempt near campus.

"You have to expect the unexpected," said student Samantha Heim. "You never know when anything can happen, I guess."

At about 4 p.m., police say two men approached a student on a walking trail and demanded his backpack. There was a fight and, at some point, a gun on one of the robbers went off. The bullet grazed the victim's neck and put a hole in his ear.

Detectives suspect the two men may have been involved in another robbery just a few blocks from the trail earlier in the day. In that case, a female student's backpack was stolen.