As University students slumbered early Monday morning, two Charlottesville residents were robbed at knife-point as they tried to get into their car on University Avenue near University Hospital, according to University Police.
The suspect brandished a knife at the victims, both women in their early 20s, and demanded they give him their purses around 2 a.m., University Police Capt. Mike Coleman said. The victims then called the police.
According to the victims' descriptions, their attacker was a light-skinned black man, approximately 5-foot-9, between 23 and 28 years of age, with a stocky build. He was wearing a yellow hooded jacket and dark pants, police said.
Although the suspect did take the victims' purses, "It was not a very successful robbery," Coleman said, because the purses did not contain any money.
Neither woman reported any injuries and neither was hospitalized after the robbery, police said.
The two victims were not students or employees of the University, however, "obviously, armed robberies concern us a great deal," Dean of Students Penny Rue said.
Coleman said the police have no leads or suspects yet in the case, which remains under investigation.
Although Coleman declined to speculate on whether he believes there is any connection to earlier incidents, this latest crime comes on the heels of two other robberies.
In a Feb. 23 robbery at the Lambeth Field Apartments, the residents of a Lambeth apartment were tied up and robbed of their watches and approximately $40.
Also, two students were held up at gunpoint March 17 outside 41 University Circle.
Since the March arrest of one of the suspects in the University Circle case, Coleman said police have not made further progress in either investigation.
The University Medical Center Media Relations office and Hospital Security office declined to comment.
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