Tech student robbed on campus

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By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Georgia Tech student was robbed on campus early Tuesday as she walked to her car, Tech police said.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Students wait to board a Georgia Tech Stinger campus bus near police presence at Ferst Drive and Cherry Street.

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Georgia Tech librarian, Estella Richardson makes her way to work at Ferst Drive and Cherry Street where a Tech student was robbed earlier.jspink@ajc.com

John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Georgia Tech librarian, Estella Richardson makes her way to work at Ferst Drive and Cherry Street where a Tech student was robbed earlier.jspink@ajc.com

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In a crime alert e-mailed to students and staff, campus police said the incident happened around midnight as the unidentified female student walked from the library to her car, which was parked near Ferst Drive and Cherry Street.

The student was approached by a man, who demanded her belongings. The victim gave the man cash.

The suspect was described as a light-skinned black male, 23 to 25 years old and 5 feet 8 inches tall with a medium build. He was wearing a gray t-shirt and was last seen on foot headed toward North Avenue, according to the alert.

Late Tuesday morning, school spokesman Matt Nagel issued a statement in which he said the robber was not armed.

"Georgia Tech’s primary concern is with the safety of our students, faculty and staff." Nagel said. "We are thankful that our student is safe and that the crime did not involve a weapon. The Georgia Tech police department is investigating the incident and we ask anyone with information to contact them at 404-894-2500."

An employee of the library near the site of the robbery said that students are seen as easy prey by criminals.

"I fell pretty safe," said Estella Richardson, who has worked at the Price Gilbert Memorial Library on Cherry Street for 13 years..

"I take note of my surroundings and I try not to make myself a victim," she said. "I look around and just keep walking until I get to my destination."

Students, Richardson said, "tend to not be aware of their surroundings."

"They walk around with headphones on, talking on the phone," she said. "They don't pay attention to their surroundings, and I think that they become easy victims because of that," Richardson said. "They tend to have expensive electronic equipment and sometimes cash that these robbers know about."

Richardson suggested that students take advantage of security escorts offered by Tech police, especially since there's little parking in the immediate vicinity of the library.

"There used to be parking right behind the [library] building, but they're constructing a new building there, and they've removed all the parking in that area, so they don't have a close proximity to park in," she said.

Princy Kuriakose, a 19-year-old sophomore biology major from Lawrenceville, said she was shocked by the news of the overnight robbery in the heart of the Tech campus.

"That's scary," she said. "I live in Centennial Place apartments, and I frequently walk from the library after study sessions. To know that something like that happened is pretty scary."

Kuriakose said that while she feels like the campus needs more security, "we have to be more cautious. As students, we have to be extremely careful around this campus."

"I can't say I'm really surprised," said Garrett Eckerl, 22, a senior mechanical engineering major from Conyers. "It's happened so many times."

Eckerl said that some nights, there's a police officer outside in the area where the overnight robbery occurred, but "other nights there's nobody here."

"I know some of the police officers here, and they've been working hard, but they're never around, it seems, when it happens," Eckerl said.

"I probably wouldn't have been walking by myself at midnight, but I might have done it," said Melissa Eaton, a first-year student from Cumming.

"I'm not saying it's her fault, because it's never the victim's fault," Eaton added. "I'll be more careful."

Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this article.