[Update: This story has been updated since Oct. 24 at 2:12 p.m. with additional information]
The Boca campus has seen its second armed incident in one week alone.
At 10:34 p.m. an alert was sent to FAU students via text, email and phone call informing students of an armed robbery in the parking lot near the Rec Center. According to the alert, the victim was approached by five black males and forced to drive his car to a bank to obtain money. The suspects had him drive to Coconut Creek where they left him battered with his vehicle.
The victim sustained injuries, sought medical attention and was released. FAU Police Department was contacted for comment, but directed the UP to media relations, who could not be reached by publication time.
“Honestly, I don’t feel safe and I personally think we should stop spending money on getting more people to ticket us in the parking services and spend more on getting actual cops involved, driving around at night,” said sophomore business major Philip Ozar who was in the Rec Center when the alert was released.
This armed robbery came just days after another incident on campus. On Oct. 19 an armed robbery occurred in the Arts & Letters building of the Boca campus. A black male approximately 6-feet tall, medium build, dressed in black shorts with no shirt and a black bandana was reported to have entered the building armed with a knife.
No further details about victims of both open investigations have been released. This incident marks the third armed robbery on the Boca campus in the past 11 months.
“I’m actually not surprised with the behavior that went down tonight at FAU because lately with the actions going on here, off campus too, and last year,” said junior exercise science major Tony Singer who was in the Rec Center when the alert was released. “I’m sure more actions are gonna take place in the future.”
FAU Spokesperson Lisa Metcalf released a statement on Oct. 24 regarding the incident.
“The health, safety and welfare of everyone at FAU are of the utmost importance,” reads the statement. “FAU is committed to providing a safe learning environment for the entire University community.”
You can find the full statement below.
[divider type=”thin”]
Metcalf’s Statement:
Statement from Florida Atlantic University
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Florida Atlantic University’s Police Department received a report of an
armed robbery that occurred on the Boca Raton campus. The victim’s report is as follows:
The victim got into his car in the parking lot adjacent to the Recreation & Fitness Center. He
was approached by five black males who entered his vehicle. He was then told to drive to a bank
near campus on Glades Road, where he was forced to obtain money.
The suspects then instructed him to drive to Coconut Creek, where the victim was battered and
left with his vehicle. The victim drove home and later sought medical treatment for his injuries
and was treated and released from a local hospital.
FAU police launched an immediate investigation. Because this remains an active investigation,
no further details are being released. If you have information concerning this matter please
contact the FAU Police Department at 561-297-3500. If you wish to provide information
anonymously, please utilize the Silent Witness website at
www.fau.edu/police/silent_witness.php.
The health, safety and welfare of everyone at FAU are of the utmost importance. FAU is
committed to providing a safe learning environment for the entire University community. FAU
has multiple security systems in place and has invested heavily in protecting the safety of its
campuses. As a result of this incident, FAU is also increasing its police presence.
FAU has reached out to the victim of Wednesday’s incident to offer assistance to him and his
family.
-Lisa Metcalf
University Spokesperson
[divider type=”thin”]
Check back for more updates on both armed robberies.
[Maddy Mesa contributed to the reporting of this story.]
