Police respond to ‘aggravated strong-arm robbery’ on campus

University police responded to an “aggravated strong-arm robbery” around 10:30 Tuesday morning in the parking lot near 17th and Harvard.

Police Chief Rodney Clark said a man took a female student’s backpack from her before fleeing campus.

“The story we got is she was exiting her car here in the parking lot and she was approached — the male did take her backpack from her,” Clark said. “I don’t know the extent of the level of force used, but he did remove the backpack from her.”

The WSU crime log entry for the incident says the student “was hit on the side of the head with a possible handgun.”

Clark said she is unharmed and that the university is in no immediate danger.

“The suspect fled in the direction away from campus, so he didn’t stay on campus, so there’s no immediate threat to the university,” Clark said.

“We’ve conducted a search of the area. It’s unfortunate, things like this happen. It’s the first day back to school and everything, but our officers did conduct a security sweep — not only here, but a little bit off campus too.”

A university alert describes the suspect as a 40-year-old black man between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-6, wearing a black shirt, black pants, and a black facemask.

The alert asks anyone with information on the crime or identity of the suspect to contact the university police at (316) 978-3450 or [email protected].