2 Downtown Strong Arm Robberies Had Yale Students Pepper-Sprayed: New Haven Police

NEW HAVEN, CT — Just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, a robbery was reported in the area of Crown and Church streets, according to Yale Police.

The victim, a Yale graduate student, reported that a man, thin build, early to mid 20's, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and dark-colored pants, approached him, pepper sprayed him and took his bag, and then fled toward State Street, according to police, as provided to the campus community via the LiveSafe app. It was noted that the student's "bag contained his wallet and other personal items."

The pepper-sprayed student was treated by medical personnel, according to authorities.

The pepper-spring is not an isolated incident.

Saturday at 1 a.m., according to Yale Police, after leaving a bar, a woman walking on Crown toward York Street "was approached by an unknown male."

"The suspect pepper sprayed her and took her purse before fleeing the area in a silver Chevrolet Silverado," police said.

Authorities said the "suspect is described as a male wearing all black clothing, with a thin build, approximately 6-feet tall, and believed to be between 20 and 25 years old."

Both Yale and New Haven police are investigating.

New Haven Chief of Police Karl Jacobson said detectives assigned to the department's robbery/burglary unit "have several good leads that they are following up on."

"Crimes like these are down significantly from the past few years, which is a credit to our officers and detectives, but we still encourage everyone to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior they might see," Jacobson said.

A similar strong-arm downtown robbery, or in this case an attempted robbery, also happened last month.

In early November, Yale police alerted the campus community of an attempted robbery by a group of "four to five juvenile males, all wearing black clothing." No weapons were displayed, and, police said, "one member of the group pushed the victim and demanded money while laughing." The victim walked away without injury, and the "suspects were last seen running on Chapel Street toward College Street." That report led to increased police presence.

For those with information related to these incidents are asked to please call the Yale Police at 203-432-4400 or New Haven Police at 203-946-6316 or send an anonymous text tip through our LiveSafe app.