During the first few days of the fall semester, students at University of Texas at Arlington have a lot on their plates. The last thing they want to worry about is crime on campus – but that's what they were alerted to Monday night.
"I hope it doesn't happen to me," said Thomas Olsen, a first-year student at UTA. "I hope the person is OK, who it happened to. I'm making sure I'm staying out of that area for a while."
In a campus-wide bulletin, UTA Police informed students they're investigating an armed robbery that took place in Parking Lot 50, which is on the south side of campus.
A student told them two men approached him in the parking lot at around 5:30 p.m., then pulled out a handgun and demanded his personal items.
The student gave the suspects what they asked for, and he was not hurt.
The suspects then drove away.
UTA Police say they will step up patrols around campus.
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"I hope some of the students around here pay better attention and this doesn't happen again," said Olsen.
Olsen said he'll be paying attention to his surroundings. But he stressed he still feels very safe at school.
"It's a good campus," said Olsen. "There's fairly decently police in the area."
UTA Police are encouraging students and staff to remain vigilant and to walk to and from their vehicles in groups. If students want to avoid walking to parking lots alone, particularly at night, they can call UTA Police at 817-272-3381 for a free security escort.
Back in May, three separate armed robberies were reported near campus. When asked if there may be any connections to this most recent case, UTA Police said those three cases are under investigation by the Arlington Police Department and they could not comment.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call UTA Police.
