'The New Normal': Rutgers On Edge Following 3 Robberies In One Week
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Rutgers students are calling it "the new normal" after three robberies took place in one week near the New Brunswick campus.
CBS2's Meg Baker reports the latest attacked occurred Saturday night near an off-campus house on Huntington and Sicard Street, which is only one block away from Rutgers' main drag of College Avenue.
Police told CBS2 that three men approached a man and hit him with a blunt object. The victim was not affiliated with the university.
"At this point, it's something you expect you know you are going to hear about robberies in New Brunswick," senior Morgan Parrish told CBS2.
Parrish explained that her parents are concerned for her safety due to the recent violence.
"My parents are scared about this," she said. "I'm away at school and they are hearing about these robberies, so they are calling me checking up on me."
One of Parrish's friends even moved back home and her off-campus home was robbed while she was in it.
The other two incidents, however, have involved those from Rutgers. Last Wednesday, an attack took place on Nielsen Street where a victim was pinned down to the ground with a sharp object to his back, but the attackers left with nothing. A day before that incident, a female student managing the Amsterdam Smoke Shop on Easton Avenue was held up at gunpoint around 6:50 p.m.
"It is a scary concept that things like this can happen anywhere at any time," the sophomore told CBS2 via text, adding that her boss is now keeping two workers in the shop at all times.
Students told CBS2 that they are worried.
"As a student, you pay so much to go here, you would hope you were in a safe environment," senior Savannah Britt said. "Last think you want to worry about in a school environment is safety and being robbed."
Rutgers student Ryan Mellody said, "It concerns me, but me personally, I try to take as many safety precautions as I can, travel in large groups."
Rutgers told CBS2 that it has added additional public safety patrols, including mobile escorts to off-campus neighborhoods.
The attackers have not been caught.
