Two Hopkins undergraduates were mugged within three hours of each other last Wednesday night, Oct. 26. The incidents, which were unrelated according to a security bulletin, prompted increased vigilance from Campus Safety and a general sense of caution among students.
"It's definitely made me apprehensive when I'm alone, especially as a girl," freshman Eleni Padden, who regularly jogs in the neighborhoods surrounding campus, said.
The first incident occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m. on San Martin Drive – a common thoroughfare for Hopkins runners. The victim was a freshman female, who was jogging northbound past the Carnegie Institute when a white male crossed the street and knocked her down. The assailant put the victim in a headlock and stole her iPod before fleeing into the woods.
A rapid response by both campus security and Baltimore Police failed to yield conclusive results. Official reports describe the suspect as "approximately 30 years of age, 5'07. . .medium build with muscular arms, brown hair. . .wearing a brown short sleeve shirt." The investigation, according to a report from Campus Safety and Security, is still pending, inconclusively.
Approximately three hours after the first incident occurred, a Hopkins senior was accosted by two males on his walk home along the 100 block of W. University Parkway, according to the same report. The suspects, one allegedly brandishing a knife, confiscated the student's cell phone; the senior immediately reported the incident to campus officials. Shortly after, a Hopkins security officer identified two suspects "fitting the [provided] description" — the specifics of which remain undisclosed — along the 4100 block of N. Charles Street. One suspect ran, while the other was detained.
Security officials have failed to release the identifications of neither suspects nor victims. Campus Safety and Security could not be reached for comment.
In the week since the incidents, however, campus security has grown more outwardly vigilant, disseminating Charles Village and Homewood security tips to the school community in daily incident reports. In the meantime, students remain cautious.
"I might stick to the treadmill for awhile," Padden said, half-joking. "At least until I feel a bit better about what's going on out there."
