Junior Dean Fox was walking home from La Residence bar Friday with a friend when he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
Automatically, he handed over his wallet and cell phone. Then the two men were gone.
The incident was one of four strikingly similar robberies that have occurred in or close to the Northside neighborhood this month, mostly involving UNC student victims, Chapel Hill police reports state.
Safety tips
-Don’t walk alone.
-Avoid walking late at night.
-Call 911 if you encounter anything suspicious.
-Call the police department for suggestions on lighting or other ways to improve safety.
Source: Lt. Kevin Gunter, Chapel Hill Police Department
The Chapel Hill Police Department is looking to identify the suspects.
“There were just two guys in my face. One of them had a gun basically in my face,” said Fox, who was walking with junior Jennifer Marvin at the time. “I guess I was in shock or something. I don’t really remember what happened.”
The confrontations took place between 1:07 a.m. and 4:33 a.m. between April 8 and Friday, police reports state.
They occurred at 206 W. Franklin St., Caldwell Street, 342 W. Rosemary St. and the corner of Church and Caldwell streets.
Suspects have been described similarly by different victims and have also been said to be carrying the same weapon.
“Some of the descriptions have been very similar,” police Lt. Kevin Gunter said. “We don’t want to make assumptions, but it sounds like they could be connected based on the descriptions we have been getting.”
Although Gunter said police respond relatively frequently to the Northside area, four armed robberies in eight days is out of the ordinary, he said.
“I would consider it unusual. Any time there are high crimes that occur that close together involving a firearm, it grabs our attention.” Gunter said.
Marvin said the police did not seem surprised when she told her story.
“It seemed like they already had a description they were trying to match. They were asking very specific questions,” she said, “One cop said, ‘I know this is going to be a weird question, but what did they smell like?’”
Northside is a sparsely lit area populated by both students and homeowners. Gunter said the police department has taken the lighting into account and is beginning to focus more attention on the issue.
Gunter said that of the four seemingly related incidents, three were armed robberies and one was a strong-arm robbery. A strong-arm robbery occurs when force is used but no weapon is seen.
The police department and Crime Stoppers are urging residents to offer any information that could help identify the suspects.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
