RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - VCU Police issued a warning to students Monday morning about a robbery on the Monroe Park campus. Police said the crime happened at 515 W. Franklin St. just after 5:30 a.m.
"The victims reported that the suspect knocked on their apartment door of a private apartment building at 515 West Franklin Street, and confronted them with the handgun," the alert read. "They were taken to the 7-11 store in the 200 block of West Main Street where one victim was forced to withdraw cash from the ATM machine. Richmond Police Department is investigating this incident.
Both Richmond and VCU Police have increased patrols in the area."
Police described the suspect as a black male, 6’ tall, average build, black hair approximately 1-inch in length, wearing a black leather jacket, white tee shirt with blue lines and black pants.
He was last seen running east bound from the 200 block of West Main Street.
In VCU core academic areas, which include the MCV campus, there were 18 reported robberies last school year and that same number the year prior. But the number has gone up from 14 robberies reported in the 2010-2011 school year.
Regardless, students are taking this incident in stride because overall many feel things are getting safer.
"We're in an urban city and things are bound to happen," said Joel MacNamara.
Richmond Police are handling this investigation and have been reviewing the apartment complex security footage for possible leads.
