Police have not identified any suspects in the string of robberies on and near the Syracuse University campus throughout the past six days but are following a few leads. Sgt. Tom Connellan, of the Syracuse Police Department, declined to give further details on the leads.

The three robberies seem to have been committed by the same two men. The victims in each case gave a similar description of the robbers, but police have declined to definitively say that it was the same two robbers. No one was injured in any of the robberies.

‘It’s possible that there are a couple of folks that are looking for an opportunity and taking advantage of it,’ said Tony Callisto, SU Department of Public Safety chief.

Two State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students were robbed at gunpoint at the 100 block of Judson Street near Westcott Street Wednesday at 10:25 p.m.

Two students were also robbed Sept. 7 in a span of about an hour. First, an ESF student was robbed at gunpoint at 9:21 p.m. in the rear parking lot of 101 Smith Lane, just south of the SU campus.

Then, an SU student was robbed walking behind Heroy Geology Laboratory on the SU campus at 10:15 p.m., but did not report the incident until Thursday night, Callisto said. The SU student gave police the most detailed description of the victims.

The SU student was on the way to a residence hall when a late model, dented and scratched Honda drove up. Two men exited the car, one from the driver’s seat and one from the rear passenger door, and approached the student. They demanded money and grabbed the student’s wallet. The student turned and ran, and did not see the two men leave, Callisto said.

The student described the first robber as a black male, mid-late 20s, 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall, medium build, and wearing a dark sweatshirt and light blue jeans. The other man was black, mid-late 20s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, and wearing a brown sweatshirt with an Element logo on the front and black baggy jeans, Callisto said.

The SU student did not report seeing a firearm, while the Smith Lane victim and Judson Street victims did report seeing one. Police declined to release the names of the victims at this time.

SPD is leading the investigation of the off-campus robberies and has increased marked patrols of those areas.

DPS issued news alerts via e-mail to the university community last week after each reported robbery, alerting students to the robberies and reminding them of safety precautions.

adbrow03@syr.edu

A version of this story originally appeared on dailyorange.com on Friday.

Published on September 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm