By Mallory Bowman

Three University of Louisville students and four other people were victims of yet another armed robbery in the parking lot of University Park Apartments.

The incident took place last Tuesday at approximately 11 p.m. According to a Louisville Metro police incident report, the robberies all took place within 15 minutes, when four male suspects approached the victims in the UPA parking lot demanding money, wallets, purses and keys.

The suspects, who are described by U of L DPS as black males each armed with a handgun, wearing ski masks and dark clothing, were last seen by the victims fleeing the area on foot.

The victims included U of L students Joe Sebastian, Rahel Bogale and Angel Bradley, all residents of UPA. Each student was contacted by The Cardinal. Sebastian and Bradley declined comment.

Bogale, a U of L graduate student, said she pulled into the UPA parking lot with three friends when the robbers approached the van she was in.

“I stepped out of the van and I saw a guy running toward me,” she said. “I got back in the van and locked the doors and the guy said, ‘I’ll shoot if you don’t open.’”

Bogale said that she and her friends, Fanta Begashaw, Desta Tewabach and Merird Tefeeri, complied with the robbers’ request. Bogale said that Tefeeri refused to surrender his wallet and one of the robbers used the butt of his pistol to strike Tefeeri on the head. She said Tefeeri was sore the next day, but that the wound was minor and did not break the skin.

Bogale confirmed that fellow student Joe Sebastian was robbed immediately before they parked the van and that after they were robbed, she saw the suspects head towards another car pulling into the parking lot.

“They ran away, but another car pulled in as they were running away so [the robbers] went towards them next,” she said.

According to the police reports, Bradley and Samuel Sherman were then robbed.

UPA Property Manager Debbie Smith declined to comment on the robberies and referred The Cardinal to UPA’s attorney, LuAnn Glidewell. Glidewell was in court when The Cardinal tried to reach her and has not yet replied with a statement.

The report stated that the LMPD tracked the victims with a K-9 unit, however, none of the four suspects were caught.

Major Kenny Brown with DPS said that although the robberies aren’t technically the responsibility of U of L’s DPS, several precautions have been taken to heighten the safety of U of L students.

“We’re trying to focus our efforts on the Fourth Street area right now,” Brown said. “Louisville Metro is concentrating on the area around UPA.”

Brown and U of L Detective John Tarter have both been working with Metro police on the recent rash of robberies near the Belknap campus. Tarter and Brown said they do believe the robberies at UPA are connected to recent incidents on campus and around Louisville.

“It’s happening late at night and [the robbers] are all wearing ski masks, so it’s hard to get a description,” Tarter said. “But we do believe these are all connected. Right now, it’s a joint effort between Louisville Metro and DPS. Hopefully between the two agencies we will catch them.”

Tarter said Detectives Matt Maegher and Bill Atasoy of the Fourth Division have been working with U of L, however, neither of the detectives returned several phone messages left by The Cardinal.

Brown said efforts, such as the additional officers patrolling campus, will continue through the summer or until the situation changes.

Currently, Brown said several officers are pulling a combined 12 hours of overtime a week to ensure the safety of students.

The investigation of this and other robberies are still underway. Brown said if anyone has additional information to notify DPS at 852-6117.