Police searching for suspects after student violently robbed next to Sac State apartment complex
SACRAMENTO – A resident of the student apartment complex next to Sacramento State University was violently robbed in broad daylight on Friday.
Sac State police said the incident happened around 2:40 p.m. along State University Drive, right next to the Hornet Commons complex. The victim reported that he was walking from Building A to the sidewalk when he was accosted by a group of masked suspects.
One of the suspects had a gun that could be seen in his waistband, the victim said. The group told the victim to give up his backpack, but this sparked a struggle.
At some point during the struggle, police said the victim was struck in the face. The group did take some property, but exactly what was stolen has not been disclosed.
The robbery happened a few yards from an emergency blue light tower.
Here’s what I’m working on for 10 — take a walk with me, I’ll explain what happened at Sac State this afternoon and why some students are relieved they found out fast. CBS13
Posted by Madisen Keavy on Friday, August 4, 2023
Students on campus were on alert after a "Timely Warning" notification was sent out by the school.
"I'm definitely prone to keeping my eye open," said student Jordan Jackson. "I wouldn't say that I feel necessarily safe, especially as a woman on campus."
The warning worked, CBS13 found, in that most of the students we spoke to knew that their neighbor in this campus apartment complex was robbed just hours earlier.
"It happened at 2:40 p.m. and we got the notification at 4:34," said student Gabriel Martinez.
The incident follows multiple sexual assaults on campus last year and it's why some students we spoke to on Friday said they don't walk alone on campus at night.
"They secure a bit at night, but maybe we need more during the day," one student said.
Students rallied the university for more lighting and blue light emergency towers -- all part of a plan that the Sac State president said is imperative for a successful academic environment.
Police said the suspects were last seen leaving in a grey 2018 Hyundai Sonata -- with the license plate number 8DBR130 -- down College Town Drive toward Howe Avenue. The car had been reported stolen and was also caught on camera at the Crossings apartment complex just before the robbery, police said.