Armed Robberies on campus this morning

<p>I thought Vandy parents might want to know. Apparently no alert was sent out to students. I just happen to follow Vandy hashtags. WZTV</a> FOX 17 :: Newsroom - Top Stories - Vanderbilt University students robbed at gunpoint</p>

<p>This morning two suspects were taken into custody at Middle Tennessee State University for armed robbery. They fit the description and the M.O. of the suspects in the Vanderbilt robberies. Have to wait and see if these two events are related.
[2</a> Suspects Arrested After MTSU Armed Robbery - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports](<a href=“http://www.newschannel5.com/story/23473192/mtsu-campus-on-high-alert-after-armed-robbery]2”>http://www.newschannel5.com/story/23473192/mtsu-campus-on-high-alert-after-armed-robbery)</p>

<p>More information about the original post here: [Students</a> report two robberies on campus - InsideVandy: Safety](<a href=“Inside Vandy: Vanderbilt University's student news source”>Inside Vandy: Vanderbilt University's student news source)</p>

<p>Glad to hear they may have caught the perpetrators.</p>

<p>A disturbing point in the first post is that no alert was sent out. According to the Inside Vandy account there was an alert sent but not all received it.</p>

<p>"While some members of the Vanderbilt community received the Security Notice via email, several members of The Hustler staff did not receive the alert from VUPD.</p>

<p>Captain Kevin Cleveland, of VUPD, said that their office has been contacted by several students who did not receive the email notice. VUPD is working with Information Technology Services to determine the cause of the problem."</p>

<p>The recent armed robberies on the campus of Duke University are deeply troubling. For some reason, Duke does not use security cameras as much as required despite the reality that students are at risk, and it is difficult to do follow up police work without camera evidence. Grateful that Vanderbilt had a picture of the likely getaway vehicle. And security cameras were involved with the evidence of a sexual assault connected to several members of the football team. </p>

<p>I am confident that Vanderbilt is “alarmed” by the failure of their Alert system. They should be alarmed. </p>

<p>that poor guy who dropped his backpack and ran. Smart to drop the backpack. Glad he didn’t get shot.</p>

<p>I post as a parent of a Duke and a Vandy graduate. Vanderbilt does a much better job creating a campus that is safe.</p>

<p>Last year their alert system failed during a tornado warning, in the middle of the night. Many dorms slept through it. Maybe that was a different alert system.</p>

<p>Concerning! Addressing this failure should be a top priority. Speaking as SW Virginian who knows students who jumped from windows at Virginia Tech without any warning of a completely botched early “investigation” of two murdered students in a dorm. My nephew was on the upper level of the dorm where the Resident Assistant and a female student lay dead. But he didn’t know why there were ambulances at the building and went to the bathroom to shower for his 9am class. Finally he noticed a penciled sign on the bathroom door from his RA recommending that students stay in the dorm but with zero explanation. Obviously, hundreds of students were already on their way to classes. Warnings should also include crimes taking place near campus. You will see many such warnings at schools like Duke and Hopkins regarding holdups and robberies just “off grounds.”</p>

<p>S2 did receive the alert at 10:36 the next morning:</p>

<p>From: VUPD <a href=“mailto:vupd@vanderbilt.edu”>vupd@vanderbilt.edu</a>
Date: Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 10:36 AM
Subject: Security Notice - Robbery
To: “VUPD-Security-Notice” <a href=“mailto:vupd-security-notice@vanderbilt.edu”>vupd-security-notice@vanderbilt.edu</a></p>

<p>On 9/18/2013 at 03:38 AM and 03:40 AM three Vanderbilt students reported being robbed.</p>

<p>At 03:38 AM Two students were walking from Sarratt/Rand Hall toward Branscomb Quad when two black males approached them and pointed a handgun instructing them to get on the ground. One student was forcibly pushed to the ground. The gunmen took one student’s backpack and laptop. The suspects then got into a silver 4 door car and fled the area.</p>

<p>At 03:40 AM VUPD communications received a second report of a robbery that occurred on Jess Neely Dr. near the McGugin Center where a student reported being chased by two black males. The student dropped his backpack while running. The suspects took the student’s backpack and left the area.</p>

<p>The suspects are described as black males, unknown years of age, 1st suspect is taller than the second, possibly 6 – 6’02”, thin build wearing a light colored hoodie, blue jeans and white shoes. The second suspect is average height possibly 5’08” – 5’10” thin build wearing a dark colored hoodie, blue jeans and white shoes. The car is a late model 4 door sedan silver or light colored, with a dark trim strip through the middle of the doors, missing the left front hubcap. The driver description is unknown. The vehicle was last seen traveling North on 24th Ave South toward West End Ave.</p>