California

UC Berkeley Campus Area Hit by String of Robberies

City of Berkeley and University of California at Berkeley police are investigating a string of robberies and attempted robberies on or near the campus in a four-hour period Wednesday night and early Thursday morning that they think are related.

A gun was used in three of the incidents, police said.

University and Berkeley officers searched the area where the incidents occurred but the suspects were not located, according to police.

In the first incident, shortly before 10 p.m. on Wednesday a 33-year-old man was entering the Grinnell Pathway from the West Crescent at UC Berkeley, near Center and Oxford streets, when someone with a gun walked up behind him, UC police said.

The robber demanded the man's property but then ran to a waiting getaway car without taking anything and the victim wasn't injured, according to police.

"The suspects and associated vehicle are believed to be related to three other armed robberies that occurred in Berkeley within the same timeframe," UC police said in a news release.

City of Berkeley police said the next incident took place at 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, when two people walked up behind a 22-year-old Berkeley woman who was walking in the 2500 block of Benvenue Avenue, near Dwight Way, and took her cellphone.

The suspects ran to a getaway car on Dwight Way, according to police.

Witnesses said one of the robbers was a man about 6-foot-1 between 22 and 24 years old with dark skin and a medium build who was wearing a dark hooded top, pants and athletic shoes.

Two hours later, at 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, a 21-year-old Berkeley man was walking in the 2800 block of Bancroft Way, near Piedmont Avenue, when a stranger suddenly appeared from behind a parked vehicle, Berkeley police said.

The suspect pointed a gun at the pedestrian and demanded his bag, which contained his laptop, according to police.

The suspect took the bag and ran to a getaway car, police said.

Witnesses said the robber was a black man about 6-foot to 6-foot-2 with a slim build who was wearing a black mask and a white or gray hooded top.

The last robbery took place at 1:50 a.m. on Thursday, when two Berkeley women, 21 and 22 years old, were walking on Fulton Street, near Haste Street, when a driver pulled up beside them, police said.

A female robber got out of the car, pointed a gun at the victims and demanded their phones, according to police.

The female suspect took the phones, got back into the car and left the area, police said.

Witnesses describe the robber as a tall black female with short hair and a skinny build.

Police said there may have been two others in the vehicle with the female suspect.

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