Second strong-arm robbery reported near Buchanan Towers

Another strong-arm robbery was reported early Sunday morning near the Buchanan Towers residence hall on Western Washington University's campus.

A Western Alert notification sent just after 3 a.m. Sunday stated that a man approached two female Western students at the bus stop near Buchanan Towers on Bill McDonald Parkway. The women were looking at an iPhone 4S to determine the bus schedule. The male suspect asked them if they knew when the bus was arriving; when they answered he grabbed the iPhone and ran south, passing the Viking Gardens apartments toward 24th Street.

The man was described as African American, 5 feet 11 inches tall with a thin build and short hair, and wearing a gray sweatshirt, dark pants, a gray beanie cap and a green sweatshirt tied around his waist. University and city police, including a K-9 unit, responded and searched the area. The suspect is still at large. If you have any information please call 911.

Though the descriptions are similar, the university cannot be 100-percent certain that the suspect described in this case is the same as the one described in a similar incident earlier this past week.

University Police provides Public Safety Assistants, also known as “Green Coats,” who can provide escorts for students, faculty and staff on campus, including nights and weekends. For more information on Green Coats please call University Police at 650-3555. For general crime safety tips, visit the UP website.