Reading Eagle | Steve Henshaw
A Kutztown University student was robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of an off-campus apartment building in Kutztown, the third armed robbery of a KU student since late March, police said Monday.
Investigators also found several apartments in the building that had been broken into.
The latest robbery, which happened Sunday about 4 a.m. near Bieber Square Apartments, is the third holdup in the borough since March 30, all in the vicinity of off-campus student apartments, Police Chief Craig M. Summers said.
Police withheld the names of the victims.
Summers gave this account:
The latest victim was a 22-year-old woman who was sitting in her car when she was robbed.
Two men demanded her cellphone and purse, which she gave them. One of the men hit her in the face, but she wasn't seriously injured.
While police investigated, they discovered four first-floor apartments had been broken into. Burglars smashed windows to enter.
Police were trying to determine what was taken.
The apartments were unoccupied at the time because students were on Easter break.
Police also are investigating these armed robberies:
• A home-invasion robbery of a 20-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman Friday about 3:15 a.m. in an apartment on White Oak Street near Main Street.
• A home-invasion robbery of a 19-year-old man on March 30 about 1 p.m. on Briar Circle.
It was unclear if anyone was injured in those robberies.
All three holdups were committed by two or three black men who had obscured their faces with hooded sweat shirts and possibly a cloth such as a bandanna, police said.
Summer was not certain if the same group committed all the crimes.
The chief urged borough residents, including university students, to call police promptly when they see suspicious activity.
He said people can make robbers and burglars' lives more difficult by locking doors and paying attention.
"The biggest thing is, people need to be aware of their surroundings," he said.
KU officials used the university's electronic message system to alert students and faculty of the robberies and break-ins, spokesman Matt Santos said.
He said university officials, including campus police, are monitoring the situation.
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