UIC officials warn of armed robbery near campus

Officials at the University of Illinois at Chicago sent out a crime alert to students today after a male student was robbed for his backpack at gunpoint off campus.
About 11:25 p.m. Wednesday a male student was walking on the 700 block of South Laflin Street when he saw two males exiting a red SUV located in the south alley of Lexington Street, according to the alert.
 One of the males was carrying a semi-automatic handgun and approached the student, demanding his bag, officials said.
 The student dropped the bag and the second male picked it up. The robbers then fled the scene, officials said.
 The suspect with the handgun was described by police as a black male, 20 to 23 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 160 pounds. He had braided black hair and was last seen wearing a dark baseball cap with white trim, a dark hoodie and blue jeans.
 The second robber was described as a black male, 20 to 23 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was wearing dark clothing.
BEAT 1213

City, UIC cops search for home invader

Chicago police are working with University of Illinois at Chicago police to catch a man who broke into a student's off-campus apartment over the weekend.
The male student wasn't injured during the home invasion which happened at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of West Taylor Street, according to an online university crime alert.

The student was awakened by the intruder, who shined a flashlight in his face, officials said. The intruder rifled through the student's pockets, taking an ATM card and identification, officials said.
The student complied with the intruder's order to turn over his PIN number, officials said. The intruder fled the apartment with a video game system.

The intruder is described as an African-American male, between 30 to 40 years old, about 5-foot-6 inches tall, weighing 150 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. UIC officials didn't offer a description of the man's clothing.
Harrison Area detectives will conduct a follow-up investigation, aided by officers from a joint Chicago police/UIC police robbery task force, officials said.
The home invasion comes weeks after a female UIC student was assaulted while walking alone off campus about a mile from Saturday's home invasion.

Anyone with information is asked to call UIC Police at (312) 996-2830.
ROBBERY OCCURED IN THE 12TH DISTRICT Beat 1213 (Jan. 1, 2011-June 6, 2011)
Shooting- 2
Homicide- 1
Burglary- 15
Sex Assaults- 2
Drug Arrests- 4
Robbery- 11
Gun Arrests- 0