Norfolk, Va. - Two robberies occurred in less than two hours in housing areas dedicated to ODU students.
“This one was on-campus! Usually they are on the other side of Killam Avenue, but this one was on-campus right next to a dorm,” said Mathew Ice, an ODU Freshman who lives in Whitehurst Hall, where the first robbery took place.
According to an ODU safety alert, the student was walking alone around 9:15 near a hangout area by the Elizabeth River when three men attacked and robbed him.
“I usually go out, play guitar out back by the river, so it very easily could have been me,” said Benjamin Ruszala, an ODU Sophomore.
The other robbery took place outside of” The District,” an off-campus student apartment building near Hampton Boulevard.
ODU police say three men, matching the same description of the last robbery, attacked yet another student walking alone.
“I was actually in front of ‘The District,’ and I saw the kid that got robbed. He had a bloody lip, and five cops around him,” said Ice.
“He was at his home, he didn’t think anything was going to happen,” said Shane Symonds, who has called the district home for the past three years.
An ODU safety alert was sent out for the two robberies, and some students applaud ODU’s efforts on safety.
“You can’t prevent everything, and our campus has done a spectacular job,” said Ruszala.
“There hasn’t been enough of an effort on their part. I barely go out by myself, it’s just not safe,” said ODU senior Brandon Jackson.
The three men believed to be responsible for these robberies are still out there, so if you have any information, call campus police at 757-683-4000.
